HetaliaXReader story: Twisted Snowfall
by Reaper-of-Lost-Souls
Summary: Split existence and hidden pasts, all created by your own hands. Double lives and several masks you designed to keep your secrets safe. When one particular country begins to pry into your affairs intimately, what will you do to ensure your families' survival? RussiaXReader. Violence, gore, and gang/corporation overlords. Adult themes? M to be safe
1. The World Meeting

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Hey guys! For some strange reason I had a sudden impulse to start a new story and this one is on Hetalia. Don't ask me why, it just happened. Plus I sort of had this idea in my head for a while and wanted to try out reader stories where you place the reader into the story frame. Since I would have created an OC anyways I figured this would be more fun! And I'm going to try writing in a second person narrative. Mainly in this story I'm just placing you into the story frame. I'll be making up a background and everything for the main character, aka you, so if you want me to try different things go ahead and comment me! I'd love to hear your ideas and what you'd like to see**

**This is mainly a RussiaXReader story set in a made up future or the present. However you'd like to think about the timeframe I don't care ^^, but, at least in the beginning, you will be spending most of your time with America. You come from America, but where is a different question which I probably won't answer. I'll be using female nouns for the main character, aka reader, but if you're a guy reading this story you can fill in the words in whichever way you'd like. Since our language uses male and female nouns I'll just stick to the female nouns for you. You will have a family and friends, but their names and who they are is still up for debate right now. So if you have ideas of what you want to see go ahead and comment ^^ And there's a reason why Russia slowly becomes appealing and that'll be revealed in later chapters. Now I hope you guys are excited for this story as I am. ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

A tired sigh escaped your lips as you walked down the hallway, a black briefcase in one hand while you fumbled around with a stack of papers in the other. "I should have planned this better," you snorted in disgust, pulling a small business card from your back pocket to look at the writing. RM G148, on level G. That was your destination. It had been a long flight into this new country. You were here on business, a new job your boss had assigned you since you finished your last one magnificently. Yet, after traveling for hours barely without any sleep and starting work right when you walked into your hotel wasn't a picnic. On top of that you were late, late! Your hair was still wet, pulled back in a ponytail as your bangs flopped to and fro in front of your eyes. The only time you had was the change your clothes into something clearer and more presentable, but you didn't have time to put on any makeup or even put on jewelry. You looked down at your watch for the time, realizing you had forgotten your silver watch on the nightstand at your hotel. "Damn it!" you cursed under your breath, dashing for the elevator and seeing that it had an 'Out of Order' sign. Your head shot up and down, trying to find another way to get to the level G. Seeing a stairway you dashed for the door, eventually freeing a hand and opening the door before running as fast as you can up the stairs.

"Why couldn't I get an earlier flight?!" you snarled under your breath, but you knew why you didn't. You wanted to stay home till the last possible moment. It was one of the only times you were ever home to see your family and you wanted to enjoy short your vacation before you were given another assignment. You spent so much time on your career that you didn't have time to stay home and visit your parents, your family, your friends and everyone else. Your best friend in the whole world demanded that you make time to stay in town, so you did and was able to relax even with the overwhelming dilemmas of your job. It was one of the best times to stay in town too. You had grown up in a small town, the closest city two hours drive away. People from the city would take the time to travel to your little town for vacation, but this time you had visited to see your family and friends. The seasons had begun to change from summer to winter, colors changing and leaves falling from the treetops. You had helped your family gather the fruits and vegetables in the fields. You would have been forced to regardless, but after your job taking up most of your time it was nice to get back into a practical routine you had always grown up with. A smile was on your face as you trudged up the stairs. You helped the littlest one grab apples from atop the trees, cabbage, celery, figs, and even grapes were gathered into baskets. You remembered canning cranberries and other sorts of fruits, the blackberry the last thing you were able to pick before departing for the city. A tired sigh escaped your lips. You didn't know when you would go back, but you wished your vacation had lasted longer than it had.

In your thoughts you had subconsciously walked into level G, but had passed RM G148 several doors down. Looking up you had noticed you were lost, your breath becoming heavy as you looked around and searched for a place to go. "Where am I?" you mumbled under your breath, deciding to turn around and retrace your steps. Your eyes darted back and forth so quickly that you hadn't noticed the figure walking towards you down the hallway, a yelp escaping your lips as you were thrown backwards and your papers were scattered all over the floor. "Damn it!" You cried out, quickly gathering your papers into your hands and trying to organize everything in your hands into a messy little pile.

"You need help?" a man with a deep voice asked you, your eyes looking over at the man you had ran into and tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

"Ummm… t-hank you," you nodded, your eyes looking back down and gathering everything back into your hands. Once everything you had dropped was back in your arms you stood up, the man standing up beside you and gave you a slight smile as he handed you your papers back. "Thank you again," you chuckled nervously, noticing how tall the man was compared to you. No wonder you were thrown back so roughly. You wanted to curse yourself for your absent-mindedness, but since you were in a place of business and suits you mind told you it wouldn't be the best idea. Noticing the man turning you quickly called out to him. "O-oh wait!" you yelped, almost tripping on your feet as you stumbled towards him. He shot his head around at your little voice, the sound of a mouse compared to his own. "This is my first time here and I'm a little lost," you chuckled lightly, running a nervous hand through your hair again, "do you know where RM G148 is?"

"Да," the man grinned, you raising an eyebrow at his sudden change in language, "t'is this way, девочка. I must warn you, is violent. That's vhy I left."

"Oh you were in the room?" you asked, a chuckle escaping your lips as you tried to understand the tall man through his rough accent. "I must be late then," you pouted at the thought.

"You new?" he asked, staring at you with curiosity as you gave him a nod.

"Just flew in from the states," you tried to explain, noticing the blank look he was giving you through his dark purple eyes and coughed under your breath. "I mean… I just flew in from the United States of America –"

"America! I know him. We товарищи, да!" he grinned, your eyes watching as his long light pink scarf fluttered behind him as he walked.

"Ummm… t-toba what?" you stared at him confused.

"Товарищи! Comrades!" He laughed happily, his voice echoing down the hallway and causing the walls to shake around you ever so slightly. You couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, causing the man to grin wider.

"Uhh y-yes," you nodded, your eyes lightening up when you saw the room you were looking for. "Finally I found you!" A groan escaped your lips as you fumbled with the pile of papers in your hand, trying to grab the doorknob with a free hand. You paused in mid-air, watching as the door opened and you looked over at the man confused. He was giving you a wide grin and you chuckled nervously, yelping as a piece of paper in your hand almost fell on the ground. "Thank you so much for this –"

"Да, да. Пожалуйста. You are late. Go inside," he smiled, a nervous chuckle escaping your lips as you gave him a nod.

"Y-yes, goodbye and thank you," you smiled, kicking the door all the way open with your foot and walking inside.

"До свидания, девочка," he gave you a wave, closing the door without you having to turn around and do so yourself.

A tried sigh escaped your lips, looking around the room and your eyes going wide at the chaos elevating. There were several people on their feet, yelling at each other from across the room as a small brown haired man with a strange curl in his hair happily ate a bowl of spaghetti in between two loud people. Others were laughing or sitting aside staring at them with annoyance, probably tired of the people bickering again. "Could you _kindly~_ sit down Germany?" a man with dark brown hair with a strand of hair stuck up oddly in between his forehead asked politely, the blonde haired man letting a snarl escape his lips as he sat back down. You tilted your head to the side. You had no idea what was going on, why that man called him a country's name, but you were well aware that this assignment was going to be a strange one. Your boss specifically told you that you would be meeting with strange people so be well prepared with notes and knowledge of historical events from other countries. You were completely stunned by that thought and had slacked off of looking up the information, but you hoped that your previous knowledge of history from your classes will save you today.

The people didn't seem to notice you as you grumbled and put your suitcase down beside your leg, grabbing the business card you had slipped into your pocket at some point and looked around. There weren't any labels beside the people's names, which you thought would be there since this was an E.U. meeting, but since you didn't know who this man you were supposed to meet was at you had to ask around. "Ummm… hello there," you said behind a brown haired man, poking his shoulder as he snapped his head around and stared at you in shock. "Oh I'm sorry for startling you –"

"It's alright," he chuckled lightly, though his face looked tired and he also seemed to suffer from overexertion, "who are you?"

"I'm -insert-your-name-," you said with a smile, "and I'm sorry for being a little late –"

"_Oh~_ you didn't miss much," a man beside him smiled, you quickly noticing his muddy blonde hair and green eyes hidden behind thin frames. "Are you a new country?"

"Country?" you stared at the man confused, "No I'm a person like all of you –"

"Where are you from?" the man asked again, a tired sigh escaping your lips as you ran a hand through your hair and pulled your bangs behind your ears, or at least attempted to as they flopped back into place.

"I'm from the United States of America," you said, holding up the business card in your hand, "and I'm supposed to meet with an… Alfred F. Jones a few hours ago, but I just flew in and I'm tired and I know you don't care, but I just want to get some sleep –"

"It's America you're looking for!" the man laughed, the brown haired man chuckling lightly along with him as he pointed to someone on the other side of the room where the people were still yelling in a loud manner. "The man is over there," the man told you, "sitting next to the blonde haired and green eyed fellow. He's the one with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes with spectacles on his face."

"… Oh I see now," you nodded your head, though you still didn't really know whom he was pointing you. "Thank you very much –"

"You're welcome," the man grinned, you quickly giving him a last moment smile before gathering the suitcase you had put down and rushing over to the other side of the room.

You didn't know what to do, a yelp escaping your lips as a hand was thrown up in the air and almost pushed the papers out of your hands. "Hey watch it there! –"

"_PASTAAAAAAA~~!_" the brown haired man suddenly said, you staring at him confused as a piece of paper flopped out of your hand and fell on the ground.

"Oh… kay…" You blinked in confusion, still rather petrified in either shock or anger or maybe because you were tired and the startle caused your brain to freeze.

"Hello," came a snort by your side, your eyes looking over to see the blonde haired man with green eyes staring at you in an annoyed fashion. "What is the meaning of your presence –"

"I-I'm sorry, but my flight was late and I didn't have time to come earlier a-and –"

"Pourriez-vous parler un peu moins vite?" a man sitting next to the blonde haired man asked in a calm manner, a snarl coming from the green eyed man's mouth as the other man grinned deviously at the other.

"Speak English, you bloody wanker! –"

"You speak too fast, _ma chérie~_" the man smiled, giving you a sweet smile as he poked the man beside him in the shoulder and he snarled in disgust. You took a step back because it looked like steam was fuming from the man's ears and he was going to explode any minute. "Why are you here?"

"Yes I'm looking for an Alfred F. Jones –"

"You must be the new secretary for the boy," the green eyed man realized with a huff, their eyes turning to the man with the glasses over his blue eyes as he ate a large hamburger and seemed to be off yelling in his own little world. "Why are you late anyways –"

"I had a late flight and it's been a drag getting here in one piece and the elevator wouldn't work and I dropped all my papers and –"

"Come, sit!" the other man exclaimed, offering his chair to you as you stared at him confused as he smiled happily to you. "I promise you're in safe hands –"

"Shove off France –"

"Non, England" he grinned, the other glaring at the man, but decided to slowly drink his cup that was by his arm on the table.

"Wait a second here," you narrowed your eyes in annoyance, "why do you keep calling each other by country names? –"

"I am England and he is France," the man with the green eyes said, a sigh escaping his lips as he set the cup down on the table. "America must have not told you the situation."

"What situation –"

"You see, miss…" the man named France paused, you staring at him and realizing he wanted your name.

"Oh!" you yelped slightly, "It's -insert-your-name-."

"What a _beautiful name~_ –"

"Can you answer my question?" you pouted, the jet lag quickly catching up to you as you glared at the men with inflamed anger.

"Yes madam," the man named England nodded, the man named France grabbing a nearby empty chair and scooting it closer to the two people to smile happily in your direction. "Your job is to help America make his various appointments throughout the day without fail and report back to your manager, I'm guessing, every day or something along those lines. Usually our humans will take the time now to explore the city, but since you're already here you can stay."

"Oh thank you very much," you smiled happily, putting all the papers on the table in front of you and grabbing the stray piece of paper that had fallen on the ground before someone could step on it. "I'm so confused and I need to lie down –"

"O'ye England!" a laugh came from beside them, the man with blonde hair and blue eyes grinning at them once he noticed you sitting in the man named France's chair, "Who's this person? –"

"Your secretary America," England snorted in disgust, France letting out a yelp as America suddenly pushed him off of the seat to stare at you in fascination.

"No way!" the man named America gasped, you staring at him confused as he leaned way to close to your face for your own comfort. "You're Miss -insert-your-name- ?!"

"Yes I am –"

"I'm Alfred F. Jones," he laughed happily and shook your hand, though you weren't given time to hand him your hand as your arm flopped around from your hand being tasseled around, "and I was wondering where you were. You were late, you know –"

"I'm sorry about that," you sighed and shook your head, "but I decided to have the last flight out of the country, but then it was delayed because of a storm and I got into the city later then I had expected. I'm so sorry Mr. Jones –"

"Don't worry about it," he smirked, "that can happen to anyone. Oh! If I may ask, was there a reason why you stayed? –"

"The blackberries needed picking and my family wouldn't let me go till they were canned and set on the shelf for later," you gave him a slight smile. "Though," you sighed and shook your head, "I didn't get to eat the jam yet…"

"Oh wow!" Alfred gasped, "That's cool! I read your resume and knew I made the right choice! You're from the countryside, aren't you?"

"Yes sir –"

"Good! The other guy I had was a real suck up and a stiff, but hopefully you'll be different," he grinned, though his words made you slightly nervous to what will come from this assignment.

"O-okay sir –"

"You shouldn't be so stiff! Wear a smile on your face like this!" he gave you a wide smile, you unable to retain your confused demeanor and began to giggle into your hand. "See there you go," Alfred chuckled lightly and gave you a sudden pat on the back. "Bring in that smile –"

"Even if this is a great conversation," you began, the smile still lingering on your face as you continued to ask him a question, "but I'm confused with this assignment. My boss didn't tell me much except that it'll be an interesting experience and to have fun with it. I don't get it. Am I supposed to be your maid or something? That sounds like that'll suck –"

"No, not at all!" Alfred chuckled lightly. "Your job is to just make sure I get to all my appointments on time, keep a log of everything I need to do, and just… follow me around for a while! Trust me miss, it won't be hard. I don't know the other jobs you've had to do, but this one will be a walk in the park!"

"… Well I'm also supposed to be your bodyguard, correct? –"

"Yes miss!" He grinned happily, "But don't worry about that. No one is out to hurt me, _honest~_"

"... A-alright then," you nodded, "and I have the schedule my predecessor emailed me and that's how I knew you would be here. Now can someone tell me, for the love of god, why you call each other by country names?!"

Alfred stared at you confused, your eyes seeming to steam in anger as your emotions flip-flopped from calm to angry in seconds. "Don't you know what we are?"

"No?" you snorted, "I really don't –"

"I'm America," Alfred said, pointing to himself, "and I've been alive for… about two hundred years I think." He shrugged, your eyes suddenly going wide, "Or maybe it's two hundred and thirty now… or fifty… I don't know. I lost track."

"Wait," you snorted, holding up your hand to the man before he could say anything else, "How old are you?!"

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

You had your suitcase in her hands as you slowly walked down the hallway, your eyes on the ground as your mind tried to wrap your thoughts around the fact that this person called Alfred F. Jones is also the United States of America. What?! You still couldn't get that. Each person there came from their own separate country, but even the youngest of children were called by a country name. Why would a child be in the meeting? The whole idea frazzled you, but that won't keep you down. Your boss told you that the assignment may be the strangest one in your lifetime, but what you were responsible in doing was make sure the man was safe, nothing more; something to do with a nationwide security or liability or something like that. You came from a top-notch secret government organization and your job has always been to be an undercover bodyguard for some of the nation's richest or most prominent men and women. You shook your head and sighed. This all seemed too abnormal and you couldn't believe Mr. Jones when he told you this. Oh well. Maybe they're just impersonating their countries, like actors or something like that.

Your eyes darted up realizing you hadn't eaten the packed lunch you had made back in America. Before you could figure out your next move a hand suddenly grasp you from behind, a yelp escaping your lips while Alfred laughed and shook your shoulder. "You're a fast one -insert-your-name-. I didn't notice you left till a few seconds ago –"

"The meeting had stopped and I felt it was time for me to leave so I did America," you explained, remembering what the man had said.

"Oh wait!" the man named America huffed, "I forgot to tell you! When we're in meetings and such and in public you should me by my official name, but if we're just being causal like now go ahead and call me Alfred. Okay?"

"… Okay Mr. Jones –"

"Alfred, -insert-your-name-," he chuckled and patted you on the back as he began to lead you down the hallway. "Don't worry; you'll get the hang of it! Usually I spend my time roaming around the city. Do we have to get to any appointments?"

"Not till four –"

"Ugh a late meeting! No way!" Alfred groaned. "Well let's meet up with Arthur. He wanted to show me something anyways."

You nodded and followed alongside Alfred, taking the stairs as they walked down. You had to remember that the man named Alfred is also called America and the one he calls England is called Arthur. That man called France is also called Francis, which won't be too hard, and there was another one, but Alfred didn't tell you his name. Alfred explained that they're like his family, though sort of not. The bonds between themselves and a normal family are different, but in all honestly your bond with your own family wasn't as tight as Alfred's seems to be. They see each other every day, but you don't. You're the child that left the nest, you never had time to go home and see your family. You wondered if you made the right decision, but you love your life of constant danger. You would be with this man for at least a month and after a monthly evaluation it may be longer. You had heard that the man was very picky with whom he chooses to be close to him, but apparently the man who had been under her service about two years ago had been with him for forty. You shuddered at the thought. Forty years away from your family? That's almost half a lifetime! Doing the same job constantly every day… you will just have to see how this plays out.

You hadn't noticed Alfred was talking to you the entire time and you simply gave him nods, noticing that he was talking about food and burgers and more food. Your eyes lit up when a tall man began to walk towards you, letting in a deep gulp as you stared up at the familiar man. Alfred didn't notice the man till he ran into him, Alfred letting out a snarl and glaring up at the man. "Hey Russia! What's the big idea!? –"

"You were in my vay, товарищ," the man snorted back, your eyes widening at the new name.

"Your name is Russia?" you asked, Alfred turning to you confused and putting out his hand to keep you away from the man.

"Don't talk to the man, -insert-your-name- –"

"No it's okay Alf – I mean America!" you chuckled nervously, "I already met him. So you're called Russia? I didn't know that. I'm sorry about this morning –"

"It's alright девочка," the man named Russia answered with a new smile on his face, Alfred staring at you confused and then back at Russia, his eyes going back and forth as he watched the conversation unfold. "You in a rush –"

"I know," you snorted in disgust, "but I was rather rude and didn't really thank you properly or even ask you what your name was when you asked me mine and helped me. So thank you again with the door." You smiled happily as the man smiled back, Alfred looking at you confused as a chuckle escaped your lips. "This is coming too fast. So you're Russia?"

"I am Россия, да," Russia nodded. "I am also called Ivan Braginski."

"Ivan… nice name," you smiled. "Maybe I can thank you better with a drink of coffee during my stay?"

"Ummm… да," he smirked back. "I must go now. Пока -insert-your-name-… America."

Alfred gave him a nod as the taller man left, a snort coming from Alfred's lips before a rough snarl escaped his mouth. "I can't believe you talked to him," he huffed.

"I thought we were on good terms with the Russians –"

"But Ivan is different! He's… creepy! –"

"Maybe you should just get to know him. You never know whom you find if you don't open yourself up to new things," you shrugged and continued down the hallway, a sigh escaping your lips once you walked outside. "… But anything personal won't come in between myself and my work. Just know that Mr. Jones."

"Good," Alfred nodded and caught up with you, "because I was starting to doubt that."

"I was just thanking the man –"

"By asking him out to dinner?" Alfred smirked slyly, unable to stop the feeling of rolling your eyes as a snort escaped your lips.

"It's coffee Alfred or maybe tea. If they have a Starbucks around here I'd ask him out of that," you huffed. "He helped me out, okay? I couldn't find the room and ran into him in the hallway… literally."

"Literally?" Alfred snorted. "Really? –"

"Yes I was in a rush!" you huffed in annoyance, quickly quieting down and staring at him with a sympathetic look on your face. "Sorry for raising my voice, sir –"

"It's alright," he smirked, "you don't have to apologize for that. Everyone gets angry right? Plus you haven't slept in almost two days, if I remember everything you said… maybe I should let you go home early –"

"Oh no!" You snorted. "I have a job to do and I'll go through with it till the end! Don't worry about me Alfred, really," you chuckled under your breath, "I'll be fine. Where are we meeting Arthur?"

"On the other side of the city and we're late!" he groaned, grabbing your arm and pulling you along. "At some teahouse thing. Ugh tea! I'd rather have coffee! Come on, we have to get there on time! Arthur will be furious with me if I'm late again!" You let out yelps as he pulled you down the steps, across the road and into the hustle and bustle of the city. A groan escaped your lips, unable to get out of the man's grasp. This day seemed to keep dragging going on and on.

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: Meh not a bad start, I think ^^ So what do you guys think? Have any questions? I'll be using modern terms for things, like Starbucks and Skype, yet I'll introduce different technologies and other sorts of ideas/things that may not have been invented yet. Just so you're aware. I want to have a bit of fun with this, but I don't know which timeline I have this at so I'll just have it at a broad sense. Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter and I have more being written. I don't know how much typing I'll do till I get a writer's block, but I hope to post more chapters up before then because I have a somewhat good idea of where this story is going! Well SEE YOU LATER!**

_Да_ – Russian – _yes_

_Девочка_ – Russian – _girl, lass, girlie, female child, lassie_

_Товарищи_ – Russian – _comrades_

_Пожалуйста_ – Russian – _please/you're welcome_

_До свидания _– Russian – _good-bye_

_Pourriez-vous parler un peu moins vite?_ – French – _can you speak slowly? _

_wanker_ – English – _idiot _

_mon chéri/ma chérie_ – French – _dear/darling _

_non _– French – _no _

_Россия_ – Russian – _Russia _

_Пока_ – Russian – _bye_ (informal/slang)


	2. The Introductions

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Well I decided to post another chapter. I wasn't going to post another chapter till after my finals on Monday, but oh well XD About time for a new chapter, da? So since there's already one secretary it'll be implied that there's more, so I'll be introducing other secretary OCs for this story. If you have any ideas on names go ahead and message me! Because I always have a hard time coming up with new names ^^' And if you want certain characters to show up ask me too. If not I'll just be the ones that have any interest in this story… Well I think that's it. I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter, and see you at the end! =3**

! #$%^&*()

You slowly sipped your tea, watching as Alfred and Arthur bickered back and forth about tea and coffee. You looked over at the man sitting next to you, an equal sigh escaping his own lips as he stared at the two countries bickering. "… So your name is Joseph Walker?"

"Yes," he nodded in reply, "but you can call me Joseph, -insert-your-name-. Will you be a permanent replacement or only temporary?"

"I don't really know," you sighed and shook your head with a slight grunt, "I only started… well today."

"Oh really?" Joseph raised an eyebrow at this.

"That's right," you grinned deviously. "Came back from the states and the flight was an all-nighter. When I got back it was already morning so I had to get ready."

"Did you sleep on the flight –"

"I can never sleep on those things," you shuddered, "because of the turbulence. I tend to be a light sleeper."

"Ah," he nodded in understanding, "well… it's nice to meet you -insert-your-name-. I hope you enjoy your time with us, but I must warn you the countries can be unstable, even America over there."

"So you believe they are really countries –"

"There is a way of thinking in my country," Joseph began in the middle of sips, "that we do not own the land, but the land owns us. Thus Arthur Kirkland is the land and whatever happens in my country happens to him. Political turmoil? You see the pain in their eyes. Battles and war? Sometimes the country gets sick and must rest from a meeting. These are the real deal -insert-your-name-. It is now your responsibility to take care of your country in the most physical way possible… to a point." He shrugged at her and looked away, sipping his drink before clearing his throat and staring at the two countries in confusion. "Sometimes I do not understand some of the conflicts that arise between these countries. Their relationship seems like a love-hate bond that goes deeper then brotherly love –"

"Well in **my** country our textbooks are written in a way to emphasis the white Europeans," you shrugged, sitting back in your chair and sipping on your tea. "We spend most of our time in the past during the civil war and the revolution, usually never getting to the current events. Yet we are not that old, I suppose. So there you go."

"I never knew that," Joseph thought, a snort escaping his nose as he chuckled and sipped his tea before sighing deeply. "… I bet you are wondering how long I have been with Mr. Kirkland. I will tell you. Twenty five years and counting."

"Oh wow!" You gasped, "That's a lot of time! Then you must have seen a lot."

"Yes I have," he answered with a tired sigh, "but you learn to adapt to the situation as you do in daily life encounters… I do hope you can continue for a full term. Mr. Jones can be picky with whom he chooses, especially after the last one."

"How was he –"

"He followed Mr. Jones around wherever he went and kept him out of trouble," Joseph shrugged, "and trust me -insert-your-name-, you will run into a **lot** of trouble with Mr. Jones. He is the type of character that… runs into situations without thinking of the consequences. Be sure to look out for him, for Mr. Kirkland's sake."

"I'll do my best," you smiled sweetly, "but I won't make any guarantees." The man nodded in agreement and you both turned your heads to the two countries, your eyebrow rising as you saw Arthur beginning to curse Alfred, but his cursing not being very effective against the carefree country.

! #$%^&*()

A sigh escaped your lips as you fell onto your bed, your eyes barely staying open as you closed them and only had enough energy to kick off your shoes and loosen your tie. Your afternoon had been spent following Alfred around and attending to his every needs. The meeting you had gone to was with a man named China, or Yao Wang, and his secretary was Fen Guō, a kind woman that spoke broken English, but you were able to communicate with her concerning her own country. You noticed your country was always loud and decided that you would have to buy earplugs the next time you are at the store, but you were too tired to truly take the time to explore the city you were staying at.

Once the meeting was done Alfred wanted to meet up with Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy, saying it was a family outing. There was another country there too, a blonde haired man with purple eyes, silky hair, and a curl on his head that the others didn't seem to notice. The other secretaries didn't even notice the country, but since you were curious you decided to converse with the country. His name was Matthew Williams and he specifically told you that others ignoring him or not seeing him was normal for the country. Listening carefully you could hear his name was Canada, but it was rather quiet and you weren't sure if you heard the name right. You also met the secretaries for France and Canada, Julien Fournier as the secretary for France and Rachel Levesque for Canada. Julien seemed to act like Francis, which caused you to shudder in disgust on several occasions. Yet it was funny to watch Joseph and Julien bicker in the same sort of way Arthur and Francis fought right next to them. Rachel liked to sit and watch, talking to her country and consoling with him. Since Alfred was busy with Arthur and Francis you decided to talk with Rachel, learning that she had worked for the country for seventeen years. You remembered asking Rachel a specific question: Was it wrong to develop a relationship with the countries? Her answer was: No, it's not a bad thing.

In fact Rachel explained that, when concerning her own country, she is there for physical as well as mental support when confronting other countries and problems. She was like a third eye, telling Matthew what to do and what to say if he didn't know what to do or say in the meetings. You doubted Alfred would be at a loss for words, but with the current economy in America you wouldn't be surprised to see something different develop while he was alone. You quickly noticed when you had walked to Alfred's door, since you didn't know where it was and he wanted to show you before you went back to your hotel, he was quieter than normal. He wasn't as loud with you personally then when he was with a group, so you quickly realized that he must hide all of his emotions behind his social demeanor. You would have asked what was wrong, but Alfred told you to get some sleep because you looked tired. It was true, you were, and you couldn't even get into bed. You groaned as you sat up, shuffling over to your belongings and taking out your laptop. Once you connected the laptop to the wall and began to turn it on you walked away, deciding to get ready for bed before doing some work and going to bed. Brushing your teeth and combing your hair you walked out of the bathroom, throwing your clothes onto the floor and replacing the dirty laundry with clean, warm fuzzy pajamas.

You snuffled happily into your clothes before letting out a sigh and flopping back on the bed, grabbing your suitcase and taking out the packed lunch that you never had time to eat. Unpacking the food and waiting for the internet to load you began to eat, first munching the somewhat fresh apples with sliced carrots and a sandwich of blackberry jam. You practically moaned when your teeth sank into the blackberry jam, one of your absolute favorites to make with your family; only a seasonal fruit that doesn't last for more than a few days. Once it's plucked it goes bad, so you consume the berries as quickly as possible. You looked over the schedule for tomorrow and pulled out a planner, writing everything down from the morning wakeup call till the end of the day. It was a long list to do, but nothing too extreme. Luckily you had a personal key to Alfred's house so you could go inside and wake him up while cooking yourselves breakfast at the same time. You heard that almost every secretary lived at their country's personal house. It was also for convenience as well as keeping a better eye on their country. If your monthly evaluation is great and Alfred decided to keep you, you would move into Alfred's house for sure.

You sighed and shook your head, munching on your food and scrolling through the screen. It didn't really matter to you. This was just an assignment, not a long term commitment. You wondered where this experience will lead you, yet you were hoping for a raise in pay to help your family. Yes, you spent most of your time with your family whenever you could. Family meant most to you, even if you were too far away to see them. With that idea in mind you opened a skype link, waving on the screen at the familiar faces online. "Hello!" you waved happily.

"-insert-your-name-!" everyone responded happily.

"We didn't know if we would see you. How was the flight?"

"Great," you pouted, "but the day has been long. Haven't slept since I left, but I wanted to say hello and see how you guys were doing before going to bed."

"Bed? The sun has been gone for hours," your relative answered with a snort.

"The time zones are different here," you huffed as if anyone should know, "but enough about me. How are you? How is everyone?"

"Doing great, though the little one is starting to miss you," they pouted. "I guess you'll have to stay longer next time, right?"

"Maybe," you grinned to the people on the screen, "but we'll see. I still don't know if I have the job yet. I will have a monthly evaluation and then they'll tell me if I'm staying or not."

"Then good luck!"

"Thank you!" You blew a kiss at the screen, "and I hope to see you all soon. Say goodnight to Бабушка for me!"

"Of course! Пока -insert-your-name-!"

"Пока," you smiled, turning off the skype link as a tired sigh escaped your lips and you turned off the laptop. "Well…" you yawned and crawled into bed, throwing the trash away and turning off the lights, "I guess it's time to sleep… Wait it's hot in here." You groaned as you stood up, shuffling over to the window and opening the glass halfway. Looking outside your eyes lit up, the view spectacular from the high rise room your boss was paying for. "Something good for once," you snorted lightly, a chuckle escaping your lips as you felt the cool air flood into the room and you could feel your body getting heavy.

"**Now** I can sleep," you sighed gleefully, shuffling into the covers of your bed and rolling the sheets tightly around your body. As the wind blew into the room you didn't feel the chilling presence entering the room, in fact a grin appeared on your face at the cool air nipping at your nose. Eventually the figure disappeared, your body never getting up to see what was going on. You had felt a chill, but compared to the hot room it felt nice to have some cold air every once in a while.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

You had woken up earlier then you had to, figuring Alfred wouldn't wake himself up and get himself ready without your help. You took a shower, brushed your teeth, put on some nice suit clothes, and made everything was just right for today. You had decided to pull your hair back into a ponytail for the day, adding a clip on the elastic band that kept your hair up. Noticing you were half an hour earlier then you needed to be, you took that time to rearrange the bags you had brought with you from the airport. You had your work briefcase, another black case, and one large footlocker full of clothes and other necessities that you always bring with you one your trips. You used to bring a duffle bag instead, but the footlocker is able to withstand the flight without crushing the valuables in your bag. There wasn't much there, but it was everything you wanted to keep with you ever since you moved into the city for your internship.

There was food you packed and you set that into the small refrigerator, the homemade jam making you smile as you dreamt of consuming it all in one big gulp. You quickly made a list of all the times you may need, after all you'll be in this city for at least a month and even if you stay for longer you'll be moving into Alfred's house soon enough. You evaluated everything you would need and wondered what sorts of cuisine and drinks they had in this city. To be honest you weren't really sure where you were. You had traveled by plane and then were placed in a car for several hours. You guessed it was Switzerland, somewhere in there, but could be another country altogether too. You weren't exactly sure how the European countries worked and after this assignment you figured you'd have your fair knowledge of the subject. You had noticed that there was a 'world meeting' four times a week, excluding weekends. That was also called your 'free time' and you could do whatever you wanted. It was almost half a day long, five hours to be exact. The rest of your time was spent with Alfred, following him around or ushering him to other meetings. The meetings seemed to be about worldwide global events that even the leaders in your own country hadn't solved yet, but you began to wonder if these meetings actually did anything. It was mainly Alfred laughing and joking around, saying what he wanted to say and not letting the other countries have their say. This whole idea of persons as countries still confused you, but you had some time to get used to the idea in the small amount of time you had. Plus if you don't like the job you could leave. You didn't have to stay where you weren't wanted.

You repacked your suitcase, organizing all the papers and forms and everything else. You had forgotten papers the other day and wanted to keep yourself professional… to a point. You weren't the best of organizers, but you weren't the worst either. You put your laptop into your suitcase because you never did trust hotels and made sure everything was put away before leaving the hotel. The distance between your hotel and Alfred's house was only a few blocks away, giving you time to look around carefully and see what the locals had. You were right that the food was different and you wondered where the cheapest places to buy food were. You were given money to spend on Alfred, and according to the notes you gave the man money when he asked. You weren't only his secretary, but also his financial advisor and his chaperone and many other things you probably didn't know fully about yet. So you were in charge of his spending, given money every week from the government for yourself and for the man. You had a feeling you'd end up spending money on this job by how Alfred eats. Maybe you could do something about that… but for now it was time to start your day.

You walked up to Alfred's house, which was only on the outskirts of the city, as were the other countries homes that you could notice from afar, and used your personal key to open the door. You made sure it was properly locked behind you before taking off your suit jacket and placing it on a rack, setting your suitcase by the door and walking inside. The place was a mess! You couldn't help but think as you saw dirty clothes all over the place. The place needed to be clean and a sigh escaped your lips as you knew that you'd be the one doing the cleaning. The house had about three levels, maybe four if you searched harder. As you looked there was the main floor, the upstairs, a downstairs, and maybe a basement. There was also an attic, but you figured nothing much was up there except for maybe rodents or other sorts of creatures. It seemed like a typical house for an American, not one you lived in all the time, but a house out in the suburbs that you'd see sometimes on tv. The outside was the same sort of shape and structure as the buildings surrounding it, but on the inside the building was constructed to fit the country's own home in the states, or you figured that was the case as you began to walk up the stairs and looked for Alfred's bedroom.

You quickly found him sleeping lopsided on his bed, snoring up a storm as the blinds where closed and the lights were all off. You let out an annoyed huff as you walked over to his bedside, slowly shaking his body in a way to wake him up. "Hey Alfred, its morning. We have to get started."

"… F-five more… minu… tes… Engwend," he grumbled, a loud snore escaping his lips and causing you to step back from the sound.

"Oh for crying out loud!" you huffed, shaking him for furiously in an attempt to get the man up and going. "Alfred wake up! I doubt you had a bath and we're starting early today!"

"N-no way!" he snorted back, shoving you with such and immense strength that you flew across the room. You groaned as you lay on the ground, cursing under your breath and wondering if the man was really awake or he was in some dream-like state. You sighed and looked at the time. From the files you had been given on Alfred he can be a 'flamboyant' and a 'rough man without knowing his own strength'.

You didn't like that idea, but after being thrown to the ground you decided to at least get breakfast started. You retreated back downstairs and looked through his refrigerator and cabinets, wondering what the man had to eat. There seemed to be a lot of dry cup ramen, dry cans of macaroni and cheese, and many others. In the refrigerator there was **some** food, mainly pizzas the man must have ordered and food he had brought home from a restaurant. You wondered if there was anything in the bags, but quickly saw that it was all just empty. You shook your head and threw the empty boxes aside, noticing some eggs and bacon tucked into the back. Well, you smirked; if the food hasn't spoiled you could have breakfast in no time. You cleared off the oven, heating up a pan and getting two plates. You paused for a second, feeling something watching you, but shrugged and went about your cooking as if nothing was there. There was some oil so you used for the bottom of the pan, cooking the bacon first and cooking all that you had found to eventually create a massive pile of bacon. You would have to go to the store later, that's for sure. There was no denying that. During breakfast you will ask what Alfred likes to eat and then you'll make the list, deciding the best time to shop would be during your free time. The bacon didn't take long and the eggs went by much quicker. The coffee actually smelled decent, a strong set of coffee beans that will probably wake the man up. You decided to scramble the eggs at this point and added pepper to the mix, some leftover cheese in his vegetable crisper you used to make the eggs stringier. A tired sigh escaped your lips once you were done; narrowing your eyes in the realization of what you would have to do now, wake up Alfred.

Looking at your watch you knew you didn't have enough time for this. Even though you started early, if he didn't wake up soon you would both be late. You hustled up the flight of stairs and walked back into his bedroom, determination in your eyes as you roughly pounded the man on his shoulder before walking over to the blinds and pushing the curtains away. "Wake up Alfre – America! We don't have time for you dillydallying!"

"Just cancel my meetings for today," he groaned.

You narrowed your eyes and hit him on the back. "You know I can't do that Mr. Jones. Now wake up!... Wake up!" You violently shook his shoulders as he let out a loud snort, trying you patience as you glared and jumped on the bed to shake him awake. "Don't make me count to three! One! Two!... Three!" You laughed as you jumped onto his back, shaking him up as he continued to keep his eyes closed. You snorted. "Huh that usually works –"

"As I said… cancel my meetings –"

"Can't do that Alfred," you snorted and jumped off of the bed. "If I don't wake you up now you're never getting up… Wake up!" You snarled, grumbling under your breath as you walked towards the door. "Fine Mr. Jones," you huffed, a sly smirk coming to your face, "you can sleep in and let your breakfast turn cold –"

"Food?!" Alfred jumped to his feet dashing past you, through the doorway, and leaping down the stairs. You couldn't help but grin deviously. Breakfast _always~_ works for grumpy goobers in the morning. So with Alfred, since he eats so much, you figured it would do the trick.

As you made your way down the stairs and into the kitchen your mouth almost dropped. He was stuffing his face like a cow and most of the bacon was already eaten. You rushed to your plate and quickly grabbed food from the plates, glad you were able to get some food before the man gobbled down your share. "… Do you need something to drink Alfred?" you frowned as you watched him snorting down his food.

"N-no I'm… Fine," he said between bites, your eyes rolling as you got up and filled up two mugs with coffee. You slid his mug towards him before letting out a tired sigh, sitting down on the chair in front of your plate as you began to drink the coffee. You didn't mind coffee, but it wasn't something you drank every day. Once you get everything organized you'll think of other drinks you could have, but for now it was semi-strong coffee.

You let a sigh escape your lips, slipping on your cup of coffee before munching down on the food. "… So Alfred –"

"Oh are you done with that?! –"

"No!" you huffed, pulling your plate away before he could grab your food. He let an _**'awwww~'**_ escape his lips and you couldn't help but roll your eyes at his response. "I was wondering if you wanted me to buy you any food –"

"I was hoping you'd ask!" he cheered happily and slammed his hands on the table, causing the table to shake ever so slightly from his uncontrollable strength. "The other three secretaries didn't even bother buying me food so I had to go out all the time. I've run out of breakfast food, food! And burgers!" Alfred pouted, your eyes looking up at him as he spoke, but you used his ranting as time to eat your small meal. "Burgers man! Not the burgers! I was close to eating the ramen Japan gave to me. Not that I mind ramen, but I don't want it EVERY DAY!"

"So what do you like –"

"I don't know," he answered, sitting back in his chair and shrugging. "What do you like to make?"

"Me?" you shrugged, "Whatever you want Alfred. I'm going to go to the store once the world meeting starts so I can have your place cleaned up… in a decent manner before you come home –"

"Wow you'll do all that?" his mouth dropped, his eyes watching as you grabbed a piece of bacon and munched on the end before answering him.

"Yes," you snorted, "it's my job and I'll be infuriated if I see this mess of a house every single time I have to come over."

"… You don't have to do all that –"

"Don't worry about it Mr. Jones," you smirked, sipping on your coffee and finishing your bacon and eggs. "I'm used to making supper and cleaning for a large group of people all the time. I think I can handle you. Now do you have any preferences? Any favorite foods you like to eat?"

"Well…" Alfred thought as he leaned back in his chair, again. "I like burgers. Yes burgers! And fries! Oh, oh! And soda! The large size! And ice cream!... Steak is good too! And… ummmm…"

You quickly wrote down what he asked for, raising an eyebrow at his choices: burgers, French fries, sodas, ice cream, and steak… sounded rather fatty, you realized. You may have to remedy that. "What about breakfast?"

"What we had today was good," he smiled happily. "In fact I like how the scrambled eggs were stringy!"

"Figured you would," you winked as a chuckle escaped your lips and you wrote down what he liked. "… What about drinks, other than soda?"

"… I like coffee in the mornings," Alfred told you, "and sometimes milk. I like cinnamon toast crunch or lucky charms. I have cereal if I don't have time to have anything else."

"Okay –"

"And England asks me to lunch sometimes, almost every other day," Alfred realized, "and I usually ask others out for dinner… and I usually eat fast food too… McDonalds is good. I like that place!"

"Oh come now," you snorted, "Their burgers aren't the best –"

"But I never have time," he pouted, "so you know what? Next time we should go to McDonalds!"

"We'll see about that," you rolled your eyes, a smirk on your face as you picked up your plate and his into your hands. "So take a shower and get yourself ready for the meeting –"

"I don't need a bath!" Alfred huffed. "I had a shower last week! –"

"Exactly!" You yelled back as you scraped the food particles into the trashcan and threw the dishes in the sink to be cleaned later, "That was a week ago. You're starting to stink up the place."

"I am?" Alfred wondered, sniffing his pajamas and staring at you confused. "I don't smell it –"

"Just take the shower please. I won't ask you for a while if you do," you compromised, a tired sigh escaping the man's lips as he began to trudge out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"_Fine~~_" he groaned, still scuffing his feet against the ground as he walked up the stairs. You shook your head, a chuckle escaping your mouth at his attitude. He reminded you a lot of your little brother. He wouldn't wake up in the morning and it would take you forever to get him to do anything. Just the thought made you smile and miss home, even though you were there only a few days ago. You sighed, turning on the water and beginning to clean the dishes. You used the dish washer to help you along, putting the clean dishes that had been sitting in the dish washer for probably weeks and putting the dishes in their rightful places before placing the dishes you had cleaned and were cluttering the sink. Then you turned on the dish washer, looking around the room and knowing the cleanup will take you more than five hours. Oh well. You'll do the best you can like you always do.

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: Just so you know there'll be a lot of time skips, maybe for months/years at a time and maybe in between chapters. I'll warn you guys before that happens, but I'd like to get this story going since this is just introduction stuff ;3 Anyways I hope you enjoyed the story. Tell me if you like it so far and wish to see certain characters/things. Oh! And if you, once again, have ideas for OC names don't be afraid to say something, and do you think I should give names to your 'family' or not? Like Бабушка and the little brother. Should I or not? Well I won't have to come across the names in a while, but thought I'd ask if I should do that, since hey this is a HetaliaXReader story. I've never written a story like this so I don't know what I should do or not ^^ Now I hope you've enjoyed and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

_Бабушка_ – Russian – _grandma_


	3. The Immense Cleanup

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Well let me just say that this story goes by pretty fast. Days and weeks may go by, but you can just fill in the spaces in between. And if there's underlines that means it's in a different language other than the main language the characters are speaking. I'll imply if they're speaking English, Russian, or whatever and I'll also say before the chapter begins if that happens. Sometimes the underlines are a lot easier than using google translate because they tend to get the translations wrong XD Also, I think I already said that this character has a background that's preordained, but hey I'm having fun with this and I've never made a story like this before. So I hope you guys continue to enjoy this story and I'll see you at the end! =3**

! #$%^&*()

"For the love of God," Arthur gasped, noticing Alfred walking into the meeting room with a grin on his face, "you're early?!"

"Yeah!" Alfred laughed, patting you on the back as you gave the countries that had arrived already a nervous smile, "Thank -insert-your-name-. She woke me up early, right -insert-your-name-?"

"No I woke you up on time," you huffed, "because the meeting starts at eight –"

"Oh but I _always~~_ sleep in," Alfred told her.

"Don't think about it," Arthur told you in a mumble, "you did fine. America is a stubborn lad that refuses to wake up in the morning. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get him up this early?"

"Food," you shrugged, the man nodding understandably as Alfred smirked and sat down beside Arthur.

"Well at least I can sit by you for once," Alfred laughed happily, "and I'll see you at… noon? One?"

"When does this meeting end anyways –"

"At twelve thirty," Arthur told you, "so don't be late."

"Yeah I'll try not to," you snorted slightly and waved off the idea with your hand, giving Alfred a wave goodbye before leaving the conference room. A tired sigh escaped your lips, thinking of everything you wanted to get done in the short amount of time you had. First, you decided, you'd go shopping and look around the city a little. Next you'll go to Alfred's house and try to clean up before noon. Once you're done with that you'll just come back here and if you have time you'll have lunch. You don't know what Alfred will want to do after his meeting, but since they didn't seem to have a break, or if they did you were unaware, you figured he'd want to go out to eat.

Once you had left the building you walked through the streets, admiring the clean air and crisp sky above. The sky was so blue and bright, but you could see small gray clouds forming over the nearby mountains. You would have normally found somewhere to sit to admire the sky for a while, but you were in too much of a rush to do such a thing right now. The nearest store you could find was a grocery store that sold a lot of local products, but you were able to find other sorts of foods from different countries. In your files you were told to try to restrain America from eating, but you could tell that may be impossible. Plus, as you watched him for only two days, you could tell he needed to eat healthier. So your list for today was to get milk, eggs, cheese, bacon, burgers, burger patties, bread, peanut butter, cooking oil, salt and pepper, coffee beans, apples, bananas, ice cream, some frozen lunches, and a bar of chocolate for yourself. You also got some cleaning supplies and a bunch of trash bags, knowing you'll need them when you go through his kitchen. Once everything was paid you walked to his house, the store you had been at being about five blocks away including a busy road that took you five minutes to cross. Once you were at his house you began to put everything away, pulling out all of the old food and leftovers from his refrigerator and replacing them with the food you had bought.

You decided to leave your chocolate bar in the refrigerator to chill as you worked on the freezer, scrapping out the built up ice before putting in the burgers and the frozen lunches. Then you went through the leftovers and the food he had kept in the refrigerator, throwing some of the food out, but whatever seemed edible you packed away into tupperware and set them in front of the man to eat first. Then you pulled out a large black trash bag and threw all the disgusting leftover and spoiled food into the bag, cleaning out the coffee bean grinder and throwing the excess grounds into the bag. You cleaned out his trash can and replaced it with a new bag, the small effort around the kitchen causing you to use two large trash bags. You tied the ends and pulled the bags out to the front of the house, leaving them there to dispose of later and continuing on with your work.

By the time you were done the house was decent, his clothes going through his washer and drier as you let out a cough and opened a closet out on the patio. You smirked, noticing old tools and a grill that he must have not cooked on in ages. Pulling out the grill you decided to clean the black caked grime on the top, throwing out the old coals till it was almost spotless. "Great!" you chuckled happily, running a hand through your hair as you let out a tired sigh and put a cover over the grill. "Finally done… now the time…" you mumbled under your breath, your eyes going wide noticing it were twelve thirty six. "No, I'm late!" you groaned, running into the house and slamming the screen door behind you. You had disposed of some of your clothes and you put them all back on, retying your tie and tucking in your white shirt before putting on your suit coat. Before you ran out the door you remembered your chocolate bar, running back into the kitchen and grabbing the bar before slipping it into your inner suit coat. Then you grabbed your briefcase and began to run down the street, yelping that you forgot to lock the door and running back to close the door and make sure everything was just right.

! #$%^&*()

You practically tripped up the stairs as you shoved your body through the door, yelping as you avoiding someone standing in the middle of the hallway and slamming into the wall. "W'ooh I made it!" you sighed and wiped your brow, getting a few weird looks from the other secretaries that were waiting for their own country to leave the meeting room. You nervously scratched the back of your head, noticing the time was twelve forty and that the meeting was still going on. You noticed that a few of the secretaries were pacing back and forth mumbling about how late the meeting was going while others simply waited or sat down to sleep. You raised an eyebrow at this. It was like when you were in the meeting room the other day, except this time it wasn't with the individual countries but their secretaries instead. You decided to peek into the room, a groan escaping your lips as you saw Alfred yelling at some blonde haired man whose hair was slicked back and, if you recalled correctly, was the man that had been yelling at Alfred earlier. You'll have to figure out whom that country was; was it Germany? You think so, since that's the name you had remembered the man being called, but you'll have to investigate this further.

You took several steps back and leaned against the wall, a sigh escaping your lips as you set your briefcase down and ran a hand through your hair. You had forgotten your thicker coat, but the weather hadn't gotten too cold yet. You'll be fine… for now. You decided to slip on your black gloves and tried to fix your tie again. You always hated being late, but then again if the meetings always ran late you didn't mind running late like this again. Next time maybe you'll take the time to smell the flowers. They were starting to die off because of the seasonal change and you wanted to at least go through the park before the snow came. While you were in your thoughts the door opened, your head lifting to see a few of the countries walking out talking about how the meetings was boring or unnecessary or how certain countries, one of them you knew fairly well, wouldn't stop talking. You felt rather shy at the other countries and secretaries. You didn't know what to do and say, so you simply said hello or good afternoon as they left and walked down the stairs. Your eyes moved towards the room noticing Alfred hadn't left yet, a snort escaping your lips as you walked inside to find the man talking to the blonde haired man with several other countries staying to hear what will happen. "With the oil prices as they are how can you expect, America, to keep your economy from collapsing with all the spending you do?!"

"Why should you care about such nonsense Germany?!" Alfred snorted back, setting your briefcase by a seat and sitting down to listen to the argument. "You're still trying to improve your economy after world war two, _and~~_ what's this I hear about your **need** of oil?"

"None of your business –"

"Then don't butt into my own," Alfred smirked, his arms over his chest as he grinned slyly at the other country.

You let out a tired sigh, watching as they argued back and forth and the others didn't even bother to stop them. Alfred didn't have any other appointments for the day so you didn't care if he kept talking or not. So you sat back, opened up your phone, and went through all your text messages to see if you got anything good. Mainly it was your boss asking when you will answer his questions, but you liked to sit down and answer them all in one swoop so you decided to answer him right then. You decided to text him that you will give him the files by email at the end of the week. Everything else was junk mail, except for one text message that was written in a language that obviously wasn't English. You smiled at the message; it was from your grandmamma. It took you a while to get your grandmamma to get a phone and now that she did she wouldn't stop texting you every other day. Well, since you had time, you answered her text with a smile on your face and at the end you asked how everyone was. Then you closed your phone and sighed, the conversation America and Germany were having going on and on for what seemed like hours.

"I don't know you knew Russian," a voice came from behind, a yelp almost escaping your lips as you turned around and noticed Ivan had been sitting behind you this whole time… or maybe he snuck up on you. You didn't even know.

"Oh yes I do," you gave him a slight smile, "I know several languages –"

"That a rather personal message," he decided to continue. "That wasn't for business reasons, vas it?"

"Nah," you snorted and sat back, ushering with your hand for Ivan to sit next to you as you watched Germany's head close to exploding. "My Бабушка likes to text me now that I showed her how to use a phone… took a while. She didn't want to get one and now that she has one she won't stop texting me," you smirked happily. "Say shouldn't you be going? The meeting was supposed to be over minutes ago –"

"Secretary hasn't showed up yet," he shrugged, already sitting beside you while he talked. "Always late. Must be talking to boss."

"Ah," you nodded in understanding, "I thought I was late… ugh this place is so crazy."

"Crazy?" Ivan asked you, staring at you curiously as you put your phone back in your pocket.

"Last job I had this guy would have deducted my pay for being late," you shrugged, "but I got over it. Everything is so lenient here. I don't know what to do with myself anymore…"

"We can go get coffee," Ivan suggested, your head snapping at him as you stared at him confused, "if you wish –"

"I-I don't think I should, since Al – I mean America doesn't seem to like you and I have to put my work before my personal life," you chuckled lightly and gave him a shrug, "but hey we can set up an appointment or something. Apparently I have some time over the weekend."

"Да!" Ivan smiled happily, "Not have anything on weekend either. Say… nine o'clock?"

"Ummm… yeah maybe," you smiled. "I may sleep in, so how about ten –"

"Ivan let's go – кто ты?" a man asked, your eyes narrowing at how annoyed his voice seemed to be. He looked to be a tall man, though not as tall as Ivan was, but maybe as tall as Alfred if not taller. What he lacked in height between himself and Ivan he gained in weight. He looked to be husker then Ivan was, though not by much. You could see the oversized muscles on the man's triceps, but you didn't say anything and tried to shy your eyes away from looking at his clothes.

"-insert-your-name-" Ivan introduced you, reaching out your hand to shake the other man's as he stared at you sternly, but shook your hand reluctantly. "This is Zavid Magnovska, my secretary."

"Oh David –"

"Zavid," he snorted, glaring at you before letting go of your hand and looking at Ivan. "Ivan, are you scaring people again?"

"нет," Ivan smirked slyly in a way that sent a chill down your spine, "are you?"

"N-no," Zavid stared at Ivan confused, "of course not, sir. Now -insert-your-name-, I'm guessing you're a new secretary? Whom do you work for?"

"America –"

"Ah I see," Zavid nodded, your eyes glancing over at Ivan as you felt an unnerving aura coming from beside you. "Are you trying to get information out of my country, -insert-your-name- –"

"Of course not!" you huffed in annoyance. "Zavid, you have no right to say something like that to me. I may be new, but I don't pry for information unless I have to. What's wrong with you, you eblan?" You suddenly stood up, Zavid staring at you confused as anger blazed in your eyes. "I do my job and I do it well, and if you're bothered by that then can you _kindly~_ stay away from me? I don't care what you do; just don't say that I'm doing something I'm not."

"Okay Извините," Zavid held up his hands and waved them back and forth, "I-I didn't mean to insult you –"

"Без проблем," you mumbled back, giving him one last glare before sitting back in your seat and letting out a tired sigh. "I should apologize. I shouldn't snap at you like that… How about we start over? My name is -insert-your-name- and I'm from America. What about you?"

"Zavid and I live in Russia," he tried to smile back, though by the way Ivan was staring at him he didn't have a choice to be rude or not. "Are you new?"

"Got here a few days ago," you sighed sadly, "and I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole 'country' idea."

"Yes, it can take some time," Zavid answered, "but do not worry. You will be fine."

"Thank you," you nodded at his response, "so how long have you worked for Mr. Braginski?"

"About ten years," Zavid shrugged, "but for all I know it could be longer."

"That's cool," you smiled, looking over at Alfred and noticing that the yelling and arguing was starting to die down. "Ummm… Russia I have a question for you."

"Да девочка?" He looked at you with curiosity, since before he had decided that the conversation between his secretary and you wasn't very interesting.

"I may not know what Zavid was saying before about you scaring people," you began, noticing the slight smile on his face beginning to falter, "but the idea of not repaying you for helping me the other day is going to haunt me till this is resolved. Don't tell me you're a country and you can't or whatever. Just please, I hope you can at least accept my offer."

"I not planning on **not** accepting," Ivan smiled to you, Zavid staring at Ivan confused before looking back at you, "so what time?"

"Ten o'clock on Saturday, maybe ten thirty if I'm running late," you shrugged. "Do you know any good places around here? Because I haven't had time to look –"

"There's a coffee shop on the other side of the city," Zavid told you, "and a Starbucks close to America's house… and a tea shop in the middle of the city as well as a café and a few bars too."

"Any preferences Ivan?" you asked, staring at him in curiosity wondering what he'd say. "I can drink anything, in all honestly."

"Starbucks sound good," Ivan smiled happily as his eyes seemed to sparkle as he stared into your own. "I hear Америка talking about place. Should try out."

"Okay!" You grinned at him, "Saturday at ten and should we meet here?"

"If you wish…" Ivan pouted slightly, your eyebrow rising at his sudden disappointment.

"Y-you can pick me up if you wish," you chuckled, your smile widening as he stared at you joyfully, "but I'll need to go to America's place first to check up on him."

"Да!" Ivan exclaimed happily. "Sound good! At ten?"

"Ten, nine forty five, whichever you want," you shrugged.

"Then nine forty five," Ivan grinned and stood up, Zavid staring at the man sternly trying to evaluate him as you smile and stood up at the same time Ivan did. "I will pay –"

"Oh no I can't allow that," you snorted and grabbed your briefcase, "this is my treat. I'm paying."

"I insist –"

"We'll talk about it when we get to that road," you decided to say, the tall Russian staring at you confused as Zavid rolled his eyes and grabbed Ivan's sleeve.

"Sir we have to go," Zavid decided to say, trying to get the man's attention, "your meeting will start in half an hour and it'll take us that time to get to the other side of town."

"Fine," he answered in Russian before looking back to you and giving you a smile. "Пока."

"Пока," you waved, watching as Ivan and Zavid left leaving you alone while you sighed and looked back to the large table.

Noticing barely anyone was there you raised an eyebrow, Alfred looking over at you and making his way over to you once he noticed you were done talking to the Russians. "Why were you talking to Russia?" Alfred asked, a pout on his face as a sigh escaped your own.

"We were just making plans for this weekend since I have that time off," you shrugged, "and I already told you that I owe him for the help yesterday… but I guess, if you wish that I don't go, I can cancel –"

"I can't do that!" he snorted and swiped the thought away. "I just didn't understand the situation! Now how about we head back home?"

"Sure," you shrugged. "Did you want to go out with someone today or something along those lines –"

"After my outburst with Germany I decided to cancel all my plans today," he explained, you nodding your head as you began to follow him out the door and walk down the hallway. "Plus I'd like to get to know my secretary. Are you okay with that -insert-your-name-?"

"Sure," you smiled, "I don't care."

"Any place you'd like to go to –"

"_Actually~~_ I was thinking we could try grilling some burgers," you said, a smirk coming to your face when you saw his eyes lighting up. "I noticed you had a grill and I got some food, cleaned your house a little, and just want to relax with some cooking before the snow starts to come down. Plus I forgot my jacket at your place."

"Okay then," he smiled to you, "we can do that." You smiled back and gave him a nod, letting out a tired sigh as you walked side by side Alfred while you both walked down the stairs and left the building.

! #$%^&*()

"O-oooh WOW!" Alfred gasped; a smile on your face as he walked into his house and began to look around. "You cleaned up everything! Everything! -insert-your-name-, you didn't have to do all this –"

"It's my job," you shrugged, closing the door behind you and letting out a sneeze because of the cool air outside had chilled your bones, "but I hope to have your house in decent order by the end of the week. So… what do you think –"

"Y-you've done great!" he chuckled happily, "I'm glad I picked you."

You nodded and walked over to the freezer, taking out the frozen burgers and filling up a large bowl full of hot water before putting the bag of burgers into the bowl. You knew it may be a while for the burgers to thaw, but since they were only sitting in the freezer for a few hours it won't take too long. "Well you know Mr. Jones," you began, noticing that Alfred had wandered into the kitchen and was admiring the new display of food in the refrigerator, "I don't even know why you chose me. From what I hear you haven't had an actual secretary in a few years. So? Why is that?"

"Why?" Alfred thought, shrugging as he closed the refrigerator with his foot and grabbed a banana near his arm. "… Well you can say I didn't come across anyone that I liked," he decided to say as he began to unpeel the banana and sat down at a chair in his dining room. "The boss recommended you for some reason and after looking over your files I decided to give you a try… but to be honest this place hasn't been cleaned since I got here," he chuckled, "and for you to do all that… I-I'm impressed."

"Thank you," you smiled, humming to yourself as you left the kitchen and walked over to the screen door. Alfred looked up his head and noticed you were going outside, deciding to follow you with his banana in hand. "Why did you choose me?"

"You lived out in the countryside," he grinned, watching as you uncovered the grill and grabbed a propane tank from the tool shed, "yet you work for prestigious guys. Also I noticed you have a lot under your name, you were in the army?"

"Yep," you nodded, hooking the tank up to the grill before turning it on and lighting the inside with a lighter. "I left a few years ago and I've served my full term. The bodyguard job sort of came towards the end of my career in the service. This secret organization, agency group hired me and they were astonished by my skills as an assassin without the 'proper training'," you smirked at the thought and closed the top of the grill once everything was lit, "In fact, Alfred, I did train myself. The years in the service did me some good, but when I was little I would go out hunting with my older brother, my father, and my grandfather. Plus my father was part of this gun club and he would bring me there at least once a week to shoot at targets, some of them moving. So I learned from that. I was going to become a policeman, actually, but after the organization contacted me and had me working there for a while I decided to stay. So there you go."

Alfred gave you a slight smile, the two of you walking back inside and sitting down at the dining table. "I didn't know that," he chuckled, "and I did wonder where my secretaries came from."

"It's not a big deal," you shrugged, sitting back in the chair and staring out the screen door. "You're actually one of my easiest assignments thus far. The rest of my bosses were either strict or cold to me. It's nice to have a change of pace, so thank you."

"No problem," he smirked, setting his banana peel on the table before placing his elbows on the table and setting his head on his hands, staring at you in a serious manner. "Now there are a few concerns I have about you."

"Go right ahead and ask me," you told him and leaned closer to the table, "and I'll give you the straightest answer I can."

"Can you tell me why you are acting so friendly to Russia –"

"As I told you before," you sighed and shook your head, "he helped me find the meeting room and I feel like I owe him one. Plus why are you cold to him? Do you hate Russians or something –"

"It's nothing like that," he snorted. "He just… he creeps me out. I don't understand how you can be so warm to that cold man –"

"Meh, I just don't see it I suppose," you shrugged, getting up to get yourself a drink. "Would you like some water?"

"No thank you," Alfred shook his head, your steps echoing against the hardwood floor as he watched you leave and soon come back with a glass of water. "… So you know Russian?"

"It's my second language," you chuckled lightly, drinking down some of the water before continuing, "or first. Not really sure. I learned Russian and English at the same time when I was a child because my parents wanted to teach their children two languages at once."

"Is that so?" he asked.

"Yes," you nodded, "didn't you read my file?"

"W-well… yeah I suppose," Alfred shrugged, "but I'd rather talk to someone then read everything about themselves from a file. I noticed that you know a lot of languages and you're ethnically diverse. If you don't mind me asking, could you explain that?"

"Sure," you responded, drinking from your cup one more time before setting it down on the table. "Well let's see… on my mother's side I'm mainly Russian. My family emigrated from Russia a generation or two ago… maybe sixty years ago? A century ago? I don't know," you shrugged, "it was a while ago. Some relatives are still there and others are in America, and don't worry Mr. Jones. My whole family was either born here or has visas and has filled out the proper paperwork. As for my father's side of the family… it can be complicated." You sighed as you sipped your drink again, thinking for a few moments before continuing. "… My father has many parts to his family. His last name is polish, meaning my last name is polish," you grinned happily, "though I have a split-two last name, but I use my polish last name from my father. His polish ancestors immigrated through Ellis Island, so we have paperwork there. Then I know of a great, great, grandfather who was German and his wife was French… though we don't know if she was French. She may have been a French Canadian native, but used the term French to fit in. Anyways she knew French. That much we know. Also my father's mother came from Ireland and I have some relatives there… though I don't really know them. Plus most of them have moved to America and live there, so I tend to see them from time to time.

"And… hmmmm… My grandparents taught me Russian and my parents spoke English. I know how to speak both at once, but I usually only use one at a time, mainly Russian with my family and English with everyone else. I know some Polish, German, a bit of French and Spanish, and I was taught Latin in high school, but I don't really remember every detail anymore. The Asian languages are rather hard for me to learn so I haven't learned them, but I have taken a few classes on how to communicate with the Chinese and Japanese and there's that… So there you go," you shrugged. "My father's side of the family owned the farm and my mother's side came later and had bought the land beside their own. They met, fell in love, and when they got married they merged their land together so they could have more profit. I grew up in the countryside my whole childhood, but I remember when I was a small child that I had visited Russia once. Barely remember the trip, but I had been there once… and sometimes we go to Canada," you smiled. "We love to ski also. My favorite is Nordic skiing, but I also have Alpine skis. Never snowboarded though… never really liked the idea of my feet being strapped to one ski," you shuddered slightly. "And will that be all Mr. Jones?"

"I guess," he shrugged, sitting back in his chair and giving you a smile. "That's a complicated family."

"I suppose," you smiled back, "but its fun too. All the different backgrounds, oh I love it! To just put it plain and simple I'm American. I'm a melting pot of ethnic diversity."

"Great!" Alfred laughed, watching as you stood up and grabbed bag of burgers from the hot water. You took the bag outside and he followed behind you, closing the screen door behind him as you began to place the burgers on the grill since it was done heating up. "I can't wait to learn more about you! The man that worked for me was also like you, but he didn't like to disclose all his information to me. Don't know why exactly, but he kept a lot of stuff to himself."

"Then let me warn you Alfred that I'm the same way," you smirked, placing the burgers as you continued. "From what I've noticed I actually have a lot more time then I'm used to. I get weekends off and the time during your world meetings off, but as long as I check up on you I'm good. So, for once, I can speak to my family more often… so I thank you for that."

"You don't have to thank me –"

"Well I should," you snorted, "because I'm used to working twenty four seven every day, morning, noon, and night. To be honest I don't even know what my older brother does anymore for a living. Maybe I can figure all that out, if I'm staying that is."

"It's nice to know that you're enjoying yourself," Alfred smiled.

"Oh yes!" You grinned, "I am! I can cook and clean without someone breathing down my back. Well sure, this is your house, but you don't seem to mind that I'm cooking for you or that I cleaned up your place while you were gone."

"I'm glad!" he grinned back, "but I'll be honest, I'm still not sure about you. Don't take it as an insult, but it just takes some time to warm up to someone, right?"

"Understandable," you responded, "at my last job my boss almost fired me while I was only there for a week, but he changed his mind last minute and probably after working for him that's why my resume was sent to you."

"Well," he sighed, "just so you know, we're not exactly on friendly terms with **any** country, so please understand my hesitation with Ivan and Arthur and Ludwig –"

"Ludwig?" you asked curiously, turning your head to him before turning back to the grill and sprinkling some pepper onto the meat.

"Ludwig is Germany," Alfred chuckled nervously, "maybe I should give you a list of all the countries with their names and secretaries."

"Oh that would be great!" you smiled to him, "because I'm still having a hard time remembering everyone. I remember Arthur Kirkland is England with Joseph Walker as his secretary, Ivan Braginski is Russia, there is a France named Francis… and… that's really all I can remember off of the top of my head." You sighed and shook your head, "And I'm sorry about that because I should know better, but I have problems remembering every detail."

"That's alright," he nodded and gave you a smile, watching as you cooked the burgers. "You're not as bad as my last secretary, if you could even call him one. You're a lot more lenient. I like that."

"That's because you were nice to me, so I am nice back," you smirked, humming as you fluffed over a burger.

Then a sigh escaped his lips, his eyes looking away from you and towards the scenery beyond the house. "… What a beautiful place."

"It is," you grinned, your eyes looking out to the sky as a sigh also escaped your lips, "but I can't wait for the winter. Then I can ski!"

"You must love skiing then!" Alfred laughed happily. "How good are you?"

"I sometimes take black diamond runs and go on rough terrain," you shrugged, "but nothing fancy. Just wherever the best powder is."

"Wow!" He huffed, "I can't even do blue runs that well!"

"Once the snow falls I'll have to teach you then," you grinned excitedly, "that is… if I'm still around, and if not you can come to my town and ask me in person. My family likes to go skiing almost every other day during the winter because it's one of the things to do other than sitting around and chopping firewood."

"Sounds like a plan!" Alfred smiled; an equally rivaling smile placed on your own lips until you looked back to the grill and flipped over the burgers.

! #$%^&*()

**A/N: So with the background: that's actually similar to my own family. My father has an ethnically diverse family like the father in this story and my mother came from one place, like the mother in this story… sort of. I tweaked it, but I think its fun to have a background like that, don't you think? XD Anyways I hope you enjoyed this story so far. This is still the introductions so I won't get to the awesome, dramatic stuff till later. So I'll see you later and enjoy your vacations! =D**

_кто ты?_ – Russian – _Who are you?_

_нет _– Russian – _no_

_eblan_ – Russian – _dumbass_

_Извините _– Russian – _sorry_ (for a mistake)

_Без проблем_ – Russian – _no problem _

_Америка_ – Russian – _America_


	4. The Payback

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry that I haven't posted a chapter in a while, but I was busy writing that I forgot to review anything :O Anyways here's the next chapter. I sort of have a whole idea planned for where this story is headed so I hope you enjoy this story. I'll try to portray the countries the best I can, but if they seem too OOC just tell me because this is my first time ever writing about these characters and I don't know if I'm displaying them as well as I can. Plus my idea for several characters are a bit different because this story is sort of set in the present/future and how I'd see a country now has changed, slightly. Well it doesn't really matter. I just hope you enjoy the next chapter! =D**

! #$%^&*()

A tired sigh escaped your lips, your arms stretching as you moved out of your bed and welcomed the lukewarm breeze that blew into your window. "No matter how much I like the snow it's nice to have a light breeze," you thought aloud, yawning as you stumbled out of bed and pulled back the blinds. Your eyes lit up, staring out at the rising sun in the distance. This was your first break for the week and you were going to spend the morning with Ivan Braginski. After hearing the horror stories from Alfred and Arthur you didn't know what to think of the man, but you kept an open mind as you began to stumble around your hotel room and threw the clothes you were going to wear for the day onto the bed. You weren't sure what you should wear today, but you certainly weren't going to wear a suit because you wanted to be casual.

Then you were snapped out of your thoughts, hearing a knock at the door. You walked past your stuff, looking through the peephole at the top and noticing a light pink cloth up against the small window before hearing a knock again. "Must be Ivan," you mumbled under your breath, cautiously opening the door and noticing the familiar white haired man standing in front of your door with a smile on his face. "Oh hi Ivan!" you chuckled, closing the door, much to his disappointment, and unlocking the many latches that kept your door shut before opening the door wide for the man, "You're early! I didn't fully wake up yet, but come in and make yourself comfortable."

You walked back into the hotel room to give him room, Ivan gave you a smile as he closed the door behind you and looked around the room you were staying in. "Извините –"

"Ничего, ничего, пожалуйста!" You chuckled lightly, "No harm done, but if you don't mind I need to take a shower and get ready. You can sit on the bed or the chair over there if you wish and I have some food if you're hungry Ivan. Just make yourself comfortable and I shouldn't take too long," you smiled to him, watching as he sat down on the edge of your bed while you gathered your clothes into your hands and walked into the bathroom. You wondered if the man was going to say anything, but all you heard was him shuffling on the bed waiting patiently as you started up the shower and set your clothes down on the bathroom counter. You wondered why the man was thirty minutes early, but you shrugged off the fact that he was early and decided to try to bring up a conversation as you jumped into the shower. "So Ivan!" you began to call from the shower as the water began to run, "Feel free to eat some food if you wish. You can make yourself a blackberry sandwich if you wish! I have the jam in the mini refrigerator and bread on top of the fridge! If you want to watch tv too go ahead and do that!"

"Большое спасибо," he answered back, a smile on your face as you began to hum in the shower and get all the sweat and grime out of your hair. You could hear him shuffling around in your small apartment looking for the items you told him about, but you didn't hear the tv turn on so you figured he was just making himself a sandwich. He may have been early, but as you were taught you didn't want to leave your guests hungry and uncomfortable. This was your treat after all and since you barely had time to talk to the man you wanted to start off on the right foot, even if that foot made you run into the man earlier that week. Whatever. That was in the past. This conversation was in the present and was happening now.

It didn't take you long to take your shower, drying off your body with a towel as you hooked up your blow dryer to an outlet and began to comb your hair. You had to admit, you were nervous to have the man on the other side of the doorframe, but you could hear him munching and enjoying your food so you figured he wasn't as uncomfortable as he seemed while he was walking into your room. Then you did as you always have done, you slipped your clothes on and brushing your teeth, deciding to blow dry your hair so your hair wasn't wet and putting on some makeup. You didn't put a lot on, just enough so your eyes would pop. In the end all you needed to do was put on your socks and shoes and find a coat, noticing that the days were getting cooler and you were glad that you had brought some coats with you after being home for a few weeks. You fixed the necklaces you had put on, your silver dog tags from your service as well as a wooden Russian Orthodox Cross that you had been wearing under your white collared shirt and always wore on your person. You added a few bracelets on your arms and plain earrings that matched your blue jeans and tee shirt, which was mainly dark purple with various images of music notes and a guitar with the words 'Rock and Roll' on the side of your hip, before walking out of the bathroom and into the cold room.

A cloud of steam followed you as you walked out, Ivan's head snapping up to look at you as you gave him a smile before looking at your various coats and shoes that you had laid out and decided on long black buckled boots with a small leather jacket. You raised an eyebrow as you watched the man stand up and close the jar of jam he had opened, a chuckle escaping your lips as he put the jar away before sitting back on the bed contently to stare at you confused. "You didn't have to put that away," you commented, walking over to a drawer and pulling out a bunch of socks with your jacket and boots in hand. You let out a tired sigh as you slumped onto the bed, pulling up your long wooly socks before slipping on your boots and pulling up the ends of your blue jeans before covering the top of your boots with the ends of your jeans. "… So I was wondering," you began to say as you finished with your outfit, "did you like the jam?"

"Very much," Ivan gave you his usual smile, his purple eyes watching you like a hawk as you walked around the room rearranging items in certain places and grabbing a small black purse that had a long strap so you could wear it across your chest without having to hold it in your hands. "It vas good."

"Good," you smirked, "because my family made it ourselves and I wasn't sure about the berries we picked the other day. Blackberries are one of my favorite berries, but it's hard to get a good batch."

"н- нет, it's good!" Ivan responded. "Your family makes jam?"

"Sort of," you shrugged, Ivan watching as you opened up your briefcase and took out your wallet as well as other essentials you may need before putting them into your small black bag. "You see, in America I grew up in a small town out in the countryside. There's this time throughout the year where everyone is getting the harvest in before the first snowfall, so I was there for that. My mother insisted that I take some jam and some vegetables back with me on my next assignment, but I already ate all the vegetables and all that's left is jam," you chuckled happily, Ivan's eyes widening ever so slightly as you put your briefcase away and pulled out another black case that had various firearms inside, about four handguns with a long rifle on the bottom. You hummed as you loaded two of your weapons, grabbing a holster and putting the smallest one against your calf and the top of your boot while you put another small handgun into your purse and placed about two cartridges full of bullets into your black bag.

Ivan wondered why you were bringing weapons with you, but he let the idea slide as he asked his next question. "Vhat do your family grow?"

"Depends on the season," you shrugged. "We usually don't grow corn, though the government has been trying to make us grow that stuff for years. It's just that if we do we won't make a profit so we grow other things. We mainly grow fruits and vegetables. We have a vineyard, fruit trees, and berry bushes on one side of the farm and we grow vegetables on the other side. Now that I think about it, my family is still probably canning the berries and gathering the rest of the harvest. Plus we have some grapes used for eating and others used for wine, so they're probably smashing the grapes right about now."

"зд `орово!" Ivan exclaimed, "Do you grow sunflowers?"

"Yes actually," you smirked to yourself, wondering in the back of your mind why he asked as you put away your weapons and placed them against the wall, "but not every year. Sunflowers eat up a lot of resources in the soil so we have them rotate around the farm from time to time… I think we did grow sunflowers this year, but we plucked the seeds already and either had them salted or we're saving them for next spring."

"I wish I could grow sunflowers," Ivan sighed, your eyebrow raising as you closed the window and locked the latch so nothing could open the window from the outside.

"I could tell you how," you shrugged. "What we specialize in is canned fruits and jams, but if you wish I can get you some sunflower seeds for you to grow yourself."

"Да that would be great! You… would **really** do that for me?" Ivan asked, a smile on your face as you answered his question.

"Of course!" you grinned happily, making sure everything was in place before grabbing your jacket and slipping it on your shoulders. "We do sell sunflower seeds, so I'll call up my folks and ask them to send me some. I'll give them to you for free so you don't have to worry about paying –"

"нет," Ivan pouted like a child, "I insist on paying –"

"Nah you don't have to," you smiled to him and turned off all the lights before opening your hotel door. "It'll be a gift. Now I have to go see what Alfr – I-I guess I say America is doing before we go out. Sound alright?"

"Да, fine," Ivan nodded, a chuckle escaping your lips as you let the man out first before closing and locking the door behind you while you left the hotel.

! #$%^&*()

You pulled out your keys and opened the door, Ivan cautiously staying outside as you ventured into the house and noticed the lights were off. "Alfred, are you alive in there –"

"In the living room!" they heard a voice yelling down the hallway, slipping off your jacket and setting it on a coatrack by the door.

"Come on in Ivan," you said with a smile, "this'll only be a minute."

He nodded, but still stayed at the door as you walked inside. Ivan closed the door behind him, but stayed by the coatrack and shoes waiting for you to come back. You didn't really notice this as you searched for Alfred, a huff escaping your voice once you noticed he was playing videogames with a strange creature you had never seen before. "Alfred!" you huffed, the man munching on a peanut butter sandwich with an apple by his side and leftovers since you didn't buy him any junk food to eat. "What do you plan on doing today?... and who's your little friend?"

"Him?" Alfred pointed to the oddly shaped blob beside him, also playing the videogame alongside the man. "He's Tony the Alien. He's been living in the attic this whole time. You never noticed him?"

"N-no I didn't," you shrugged, "but whatever. It's nice to meet you Tony." You didn't hear the alien answer back, but you figured he said something. You wondered how this man could know an alien, but you still hadn't wrapped your mind around the fact that Alfred is a country. "… So does he only live here or what –"

"He tends to travel with me if I'm staying for a few weeks," Alfred shrugged. "Sometimes he comes with me by plane and other times he just shows up! It's cool, don't you think?"

"Yes, very," you chuckled lightly, a sigh escaping your lips as you scratched the back of your head. "So are you just going to play videogames all day? Because that's not healthy –"

"Mainly," Alfred answered, "but if I get bored I'll go and torment England for a while."

"Okay, cool," you smiled. "If you have any problems don't do afraid to call me and make sure you turn off the lights before you leave the house."

"Okay, okay," Alfred waved his hand at you with his eyes on the screen, "but if you're done I've almost killed all these zombies. Hah! Take that lovenest130! You can never defeat thehero585! Ha hah!"

"… Alright then," you nodded to him, "I'll get going then. Once I'm done with Ivan I'll come back and call you to ask how you're doing."

"Okay," he mumbled back, his eyes glued to the screen as you rolled your eyes and walked back the way you came.

You let out a tired sigh, noticing that Ivan had been staying as quiet as a statue against the door until you came back. You smiled and he smiled back, taking a step to the side as you grabbed your jacket and put it back on your shoulders. "I should have known he'd do something like that all day," you snorted, "but hopefully he'll go do something else once he gets hungry again. So Ivan, I don't really know my place around the city so how about you lead the way to the Starbucks we talked about?"

"Okay," he grinned happily, opening the door for you as you walked outside first and he followed behind you. "… Don't you find America irritating, -insert-your-name-?" Ivan decided to ask as you closed the door and locked it with your key.

"No," you shook your head before turning and giving him a smile, "in fact he reminds me of my younger brother, though he isn't as short as he is and isn't a child. Whatever. Don't tell Alfred I said that. I'm still trying to get the job and to be honest with you I don't want to get fired from this one. It's fun walking around following Alfred. He does a lot of crazy stuff throughout the day."

"Да, I know," Ivan nodded. "I see he terrorizing many countries during day." You smirked at his words and let him talk while you walked side by side him, putting your hands in your pockets as you looked were you were going and hoped your stomach wasn't so hungry that it would begin to rumble.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

Reluctant from Ivan, you were able to pay for his drink and food as well as your own. The two of you had been sitting inside of the café, watching the pedestrians go by as Ivan pointed out a few of them who were either countries or worked for one. After a while he got bored and simply sipped his drink in peace, your eyes still watching the people on the streets until you heard him speaking again. "I notice you speak Russian. You learnt?"

"Brought up," you smirked at him as you sipped the hot drink in your hand. "My mother's side of the family left Russia a generation or two ago… don't know why, but they had to leave for some reason."

"Ah," Ivan nodded; a smile on his face as he continued to stare at you. "… You have family? –"

"Yes," you told him. "Siblings, a parent, a grandmother, but my grandfather died. Then some cousins on my father's side that I see sometimes… that's pretty much it. I don't know how they're doing though. I haven't seen them in a few years so it was nice to catch up with them."

"Years?" Ivan asked curiously. "Long time –"

"It is," you sighed, "but the other job I had demanded it… I was in hiding you see, or the person I worked for was. It's all over now, but I wasn't able to contact my family till recently. There you go." You paused; watching Ivan as he continued to stare at you and you couldn't help but feel a little unnerved that he didn't take his eyes off of you. "So… what about you? Do you have family?"

"Big sister Ukraine and little Belarus," Ivan explained, though he didn't seem very happy about talking about himself. "We don't live together… Ukraine left me and Belarus… is scary."

"Oh," you responded, a sweet smile on your face as you continued. "Well you know I have a brother that clings to me like no other. You simply have to… make them understand you love them in a sibling way and not a romantic way. Though my little brother is young. He doesn't know the differences yet," you shrugged, wondering if Ivan understood what you said or not. "… Why did your big sister leave, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Vanted to be independent," Ivan continued, though you noticed a dark cloud starting to form over his head as he continued, "and everyone left… been alone ever since."

"Lonely huh?" you pouted at the thought, "that's never fun."

"Да," he nodded, but didn't say anything after that.

You sighed and sat back in your chair, thinking to yourself as you thought up a conversation that would brighten this gloomy mood. "I was always wondering how Russia is," you began, noticing Ivan's eyes looking at you confused as you chuckled and continued, "I mean, when I was barely a child I was brought to Russia once. I barely remember the place except that there was a lot of snow and some bright colors. I was just wondering how the place is. You know, where you live?"

"Так себе," he shrugged, though a smile seemed to appear on his face as he thought longer about your question, "Much snow, but summers are beautiful. Plan on going?"

"Maybe," you smiled back to him, glad his mood was starting to brighten, "but I've been busy. Yet, I see the schedule for myself, if I continue to work for Alfred, I'll get the winter off and I have weekends off… it's really great." You chuckled, scratching the back of your head as you continued. "Plus my relatives in Russia want me to visit. Maybe I'll do that once I get a break… but we'll see about that."

"Хорошо," he grinned happily, "what sights will you see?"

"Ummm… well first I'll probably do whatever my family wants," you shrugged with a smile, "but if I go visit I'd love to see Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Russian ballet. Oh I'd love to see them!" Your eyes seemed to sparkle at the thought, your mind drifting off to found memories when you were a child. "My Бабушка had me take lessons in ballet. Apparently I was pretty good because I got up onto pointe around the end of middle school and high school, but I decided that wasn't my calling and stop pursuing the art. Plus I didn't feel like I was the best and my Бабушка wanted me to be the best of the best… wanted me to go try out for the Russian ballet, I remember her saying." You shook her head and smirked at the fond memory, "But either way I still would like to see the ballet. Probably one of the things I'll try to do first when I get there… so maybe in a few more years. I still need to settle down in this job first."

"Да, да," Ivan nodded in understanding, "good plan. You tell me when you go to Россия. I show you best sights."

"O-oh okay!" you smiled happily. "Great!... So do you ski?"

"Ski?" he tilted his head to the side. "Да, of course. Why von't I?"

"Thought I'd ask," you shrugged, "apparently Alfred can't. I told him I'll teach him to ski once the snow falls… or he does, but not well was what he said."

"Товарищ not ski?" Ivan snickered at the thought.

"Hey!" You pouted as he began to snicker under his breath, "I told you not to tell!"

"Повторите, пожалуйста?" he smirked slyly, holding up his hand as you held up your hand and hit his arm.

"Ivan, come on!" you snorted, a chuckle escaping your lips when you started to hear him laugh. "P-promise you won't tell. _Promise~~!_"

"Да, _I promise~_" Ivan smirked and crossed his hand over his heart, a grin on your face as you sat back and slyly smiled back to the man.

)(*&^%$# !

! #$%^&*()

The rest of the day went by too soon, in your opinion. After Ivan and you had finished your drinks you both took a long walk around the city. Your mind raced at all the little shops around the city, each of them was written down in the back of your mind as Ivan showed you around. You still couldn't wrap your head around the fact that Ivan is actually the country of Russia, and you even told the man that throughout the day. He didn't really comment you back on those questions, but avoided the subject to show you little shops that spotted his eye. You grinned at the enthusiastic man. He may be tall and intimidating at a first glance, but you didn't seem to mind as he showed you around the city. You felt he was fairly fun to be around and didn't understand why the others avoided him. Maybe because he reminded you of someone? You shrugged off the thought. It wasn't too big of a deal and you just liked having a nice day off to look around the city and see everything you could see.

The two of you spoke about your lives, Ivan mainly listening to you as you ranted about yourself. You talked about your family, the farm, your hobbies, and etcetera. You obviously didn't talk about deep personal information with the man, after all you only knew him for a few days, but you did share stuff about your family and friends that you hadn't even disclosed with Alfred yet. Ivan asked intently on your life on the farm so you had to open up to answer a few of his questions. Why he was interested about the farm you didn't know, but he seemed to like the idea of the warm sun and the sunflowers that either our family or your neighbors would grow every year. Eventually the day took you to a small park on the outskirts of the city, your eyes looking around and noticing a few houses in the distance, probably a country's house like how Alfred's house was slightly outside of the city. A sigh escaped your lips as you decided to sit down, looking up at the mountains as the sun began to set behind the peaks. Ivan joined you and sat down on the park bench beside you, noticing the smile on your face as you stared up at the sky. "It's moments like this that I remember the farm," you sighed happily, looking over at Ivan with a grin on your face. "You know I didn't know what to expect, but I had a great time with you today."

"Да, me too," Ivan smiled back, "you have interesting life -insert-your-name-. No one talks to me… nice to have someone to talk to."

"… Well you know if you enjoyed yourself as I did we could always do this again," you smirked slyly, the man looking over at you with an intrigued look on his face. "Though we don't have to go out all the time. Besides we have a few months till these world meetings are over… Hey I know," you smiled and stood to your feet, grabbing the man's hands and pulling him to his feet, "want to go to a bar? Have a few drinks?"

"Drinks? –"

"Yeah!" You chuckled happily, "I'd like to see what they sell around here. If you don't want to come along I can always go by myself or call up Alfred –"

"нет!" Ivan shook his head, a slight smile on his face as a giggle escaped your lips. "I come. Get vodka."

"Sure," you nodded, pulling on his hand as you pulled him out of the park and back towards the city, "but you'll have to show me where a good bar is. I don't know which ones serve good drinks or not." Ivan smiled and let you pull him along into the city, a grin on your face noticing the happy smile on his. Plus there was a reason why you wanted to go to a bar; you wanted to see what other sorts of countries there are as well as figure out why everyone was afraid of the man. Maybe you didn't see it? You saw the man as nice and kind and fairly shy, but maybe there's more then what meets the eye? Everyone has secrets, even you have some, but is there something the man isn't saying? You told yourself time and time again that this man is Russia, but you saw him as Ivan Braginski and not Russia. You know from research that the country of Russia suffered a horrific past. Maybe that's it. Maybe you'll pry into that idea further, but for now you just wanted to get on good terms with the man.

Eventually Ivan took the lead, his hand still grasped in your own, and you hadn't even noticed you were still holding hands till you walked into a bar and noticed several familiar countries from afar. "Hey -insert-your-name-!" Alfred laughed happily, a smile on your face as you gave him a wave, but stayed by Ivan's side as he ordered something from the bartender.

"You like vodka? –"

"Yes actually," you grinned, grabbing the bottle that Ivan had ordered and staring at the label with interest. He smiled, your hand letting go of his as he grabbed two glasses and you mindlessly began to wander to a table. "Sonnema… VodkaHERB. Huh. Haven't tried this before."

"Да, tangy taste," Ivan grinned happily, pulling you down into a booth off in the corner of the bar. You smiled, but gave a look over at Alfred making sure he was behaving himself before looking back to Ivan. It looked like the spontaneous blonde man was out with Arthur and a few other people you didn't know, but from the looks of Arthur they must have been at the bar for a while. "…-insert-your-name-?"

"Hmmm?" you asked, your head looking over at him noticing the neutral look on his face. "Oh sorry!" you chuckled, "I must of spaced out! Did you say something?"

"нет," he shook his head, "I vanted to ask if you wanted vodka?"

"Yeah sure," you shrugged.

"You sure? –"

"Ivan," you smirked slyly, "Of course I do! I've had vodka before, just never this brand." He smiled and poured out the vodka into the small glasses, a chuckle escaping your lips as you two clanged your glasses together and in one gulp you chugged the vodka down. Your eyes watered slightly, but you let out a well deserved _**'wooh!'**_ and let the man refill you glass again. "W-wow strong stuff! Usually I get the cheaper vodka though."

"You drink vodka daily?" Ivan decided to ask, the two of you drinking down your cups at the same time before you answered his question.

"Not always," you confessed, humming lightly as you watched him pour the alcohol into your glass so you could drink again. "I never work on the job, but if I'm given the rest of the day off I do! Either that or beer. Wine's too expensive for me." You paused to drink down the cup of vodka, a smirk on your face as you noticed the casual look he was giving you. "Actually when I was still living with my folks my older brother and I would have a contest at least once a month."

"A contest?" Ivan asked, the two of you drinking down the alcohol in one gulp before you continued.

"Yep! We drank as much vodka as we could, but the first one who passed out loses. My parents let us drink once we turned sixteen as long as we're drinking in the house and we tell them to buy extra alcohol when they go to the store," you shrugged, noticing your cup was full again and taking in a hard gulp. "… Can usually get about twenty bottles in before I feel woozy, by the way. Though this vodka tastes rather good so I won't try to do that tonight," you grinned deviously, "and besides I want to relax. Should I repay you for this –"

"нет, this is for fun," Ivan smirked, a chuckle escaping your lips as you both clanged your glasses together again before chugging down the vodka in your cup.

"Wow, you're such a dear Ivan," you smiled as you watched him fill up your cup again. "… But I feel bad again because I finally repay you and now you're buying me a drink?"

"We can go out again next week, -insert-your-name-, if you vish." You looked up and stared at the man confused, a grin on his face as you grinned back.

"Yeah sure," you smiled sweetly, "I'd like that."

! #$%^&*()

**A/N: And there we go! Wow, drinking, wonder if that'll end well XD I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Finally you're repaying Ivan! Figured it'd be better to time skip and get to the better parts. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please comment back if you like it or have questions. Well I guess I'll see you later. ENJOY YOURSELVES!**

_Ничего, ничего, пожалуйста_ – Russian – _that's all right_

_Большое спасибо_ – Russian – _thank you very much_

_зд `орово_ – Russian – _well done, wow, that's great_

_Так себе_ – Russian – _so-so_

_Хорошо_ – Russian – _good_

_Повторите, пожалуйста_ – Russian – _can you say it again?_


	5. The Tiny Details

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Hello! Well I'm just bored and my WIFI is acting weird, so I decided to review and post another chapter ^^ I hope you guys and enjoy and I'll see you at the end! =3**

! #$%^&*()

A few bottles later and you finally started to feel tipsy. Then again it took a lot of alcohol to get you drunk because you could hold your liquor fairly well, but as you looked at Ivan he didn't seem at all flustered by the bottles of vodka the two of you had consumed. Though you did notice that his cheeks and nose were red and he was tugging at his scarf as if it was hot in the building, so maybe he was starting to feel its effects. Apparently Alfred had taken Arthur home and said goodbye, but before he left you told him that you had something to do Sunday morning so you won't check up on him till that afternoon. You wanted to get up early tomorrow, so you told Ivan thank you for the drink and that you would be heading home. The man wanted to walk you back and paid for the bottles; the two of you walking side by side in the chilly fall air. As you looked up you saw a few stray leaves falling from the sky, a smile on your face as one drifted your way and you caught it in your hands. "… So Ivan," you began, twirling the leaf in between your fingers as you walked down the street towards your hotel, "just wondering, what is your favorite season from the best to the least?"

"Eh?" Ivan looked at you confused, noticing the goofy grin on your face as you stared in awe at the leaf in your hand. You were obviously drunk and may not even remember this conversation, but the hiccup escaping your lips as you stared back at him with a smile make him chuckle. "Spring, summer, fall, and winter –"

"_Why~~?_" you continued to ask, your movements along the road stagnant as you almost walked into the street and stumbled back over to the man.

He scratched the back of his head, unable to stop a snicker from escaping his lips as he grabbed hold of your arm and pulled you close to him. "Spring, the snow melts and General Winter leaves me alone. Plants begin to grow again, even though it's a short amount of time, and I'm able to roam around my house again vithout worrying about the cold," Ivan grinned, watching as you snuggled lazily up against his arm and your eyes began to droop from lack of sleep. "Summer, because it's hot at my place and I don't have to vear so many layers," he chuckled, "and there's food to eat and festivals everyvere…" He paused, seeing the hotel across the street, but instead ushered you across the street and took a right, walking around the hotel as he continued. "Fall… because it starts to get cold and everything starts to die, but I can still leave my house from time to time," he explained, though your mind wasn't completely registering what he was saying, "and winter I loathe because it snows and I can never leave my house, no matter how much I try. Девочка, vat about you?"

"Winter," you mumbled as you lazily leaned against his arm, unknowing to you that you had passed by your hotel, "fall, spring, summer…"

"… Vhy?" Ivan asked, a confused look on his face when you mentioned winter first.

"Winter, because I get to ski," you paused, a giggle escaping your lips as you rubbed your nose against his arm, "and the days are chilly and I get to play in the snow. Fall… because it's time to bring in the harvest and I always make time to do that. Once everything is done w-we have a banquet in town to celebrate the end of the harvest season… Ummm… what did I say next?"

You looked up at him, your face staring at him groggily as he smiled back. "Spring, девочка –"

"Ah yes!" You snickered, though the comment wasn't as funny as you thought it was. "S-pring, because… because… it's warmer, but not too warm. It's different to winter and everything starts to grow again, b-but my family is sowing the fields and planting crops so I don't care much for the season," you shrugged, "and lastly… uh… Summer, because it's hot, too hot. I feel sluggish during the summer and there's always work to do… hey Ivan."

"Да? –"

"A-re we almost to the h-otel?" you asked, your mind barely noticing how tightly you were gripping his arm. "I-I'm about to… to… fall o-ver."

"Да, we're almost there," he lied, the smile on his face beginning to linger as he looked up to the sky, a sigh escaping his lips as he went back around the hotel so they were at the front of the building. "We're here, девочка. Do you need me to bring you to your room –"

"N-nah I can manage," you chuckled lightly, letting go of his arm and slowly making your way to the door. You were about to trip on yourself when he didn't let go of your hand and you let out a yelp, quickly regaining yourself as he stared at you with concern and you waved your hands in front of your face. "I'm fine! Fine! See you around Ivan?"

"Д-да," he nodded, "…Пока девочка. Sleep well."

"_Byyyyyyee~ Ivan!_" you waved your hand and grinned, a smile growing on his face as you opened the door and disappeared into the hotel. He watched as you left, waiting till you walked into an elevator and descended up to your hotel room before turning his heel and walking back to the outskirts of the city.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

You cracked an eye open, groaning as you heard an alarm by your head and tried to shut it off. "… Shut up… Shut up!" you snarled, smashing your hand against the alarm clock and groaning as you shoved your head into your pillow. "Damn hangovers," you grumbled under your breath, but you reluctantly pulled yourself up from your bed and rubbed your eyes. You noticed that you were still wearing the clothes you had worn last night, but the room seemed stuffy because you didn't open the window. You snorted, looking down at your feet and noticing one shoe was still on and the other was on the ground by the door. You groaned when you shifted out of bed, holding a hand to your head and knowing you had to get up. You started the small coffeemaker in your room, but hissed in pain at how loud the machine was. "You would think after all this time they could make a coffeemaker that's not LOUD!" you yelled at no one, huffing as you threw off your clothes and whatever else you had on before hopping into the shower. You sighed happily, the warm water waking you up as you washed your hair and put some fruity smelly shampoo into your hair. You used the steam to wake you up, a sneeze escaping your lips and a groan escaping your mouth from how violently the air came out of your nose.

Once you were done you went through your routine, brushing your teeth and using whatever else was in the bathroom before walking out and shuffling around your hotel room looking for clothes to wear. Decent clothes, not a suit but not the blue jeans you were wearing before. Since you were in Europe you decided to wear a long skirt that reached down to the tops of your ankles, heeled shoes, and a white collared shirt that you tucked into the skirt. You grabbed a black cloth and tied it around your waist, putting a black scarf around your head to keep your neck warm from the cold. Lastly you put your Russian Orthodox Cross back around your neck, tucking it under your scarf, but letting it hang loosely on top of your shirt. You hid a few weapons on your person, letting out a tired sigh when you heard the coffeemaker hiss at you. You quickly got the rest of your belongings from you small black bag and put the strap around your body, pouring the coffee into a mug and slowly drinking the liquid. "… Needs to be stronger," you shrugged, but continued to drink the coffee till all that was left was a small amount of liquid at the bottom. Then you looked down at your watch, noticing it was 9:30am. "Good," you smirked, putting your mug down and walking out of your hotel room, "I still have some time before the mass starts."

)(*&^%$# !

Ivan walked into a small building complex, the smell of incense filling his nose as he looked around for two familiar people. His Katyusha always made it mandatory for him to come with her to a Russian Orthodox mass because it was provided here in the city and it was the only time she could spend with him without the prying eyes of their governments, and of course Natasha, once hearing about the meetings, came with старшая сестра too. He shuddered at the thought of seeing Natasha, but he promised so he would bear through the pain. Suddenly someone caught his eye, someone oh so familiar sitting two rows towards the front in a pew. "Ivan!" he heard a whisper, looking over to see Katyusha waving him over as Natasha was being held back by her sister, but they looked in disappointment as he continued walking down the aisle and sat beside a lone woman sitting towards the front.

You had your eyes closed till you heard someone sitting beside you, looking over and noticing Ivan sitting beside you. "Привет Ivan," you smirked, though you didn't look over at him and kept your eyes closed as if you were deep in prayer.

"Добро пожаловать -insert-your-name-. I didn't know you would come," Ivan smiled back, but once he noticed you were quiet and deep in thought he sat back in the pew uncomfortably and kept his eyes on the front of the building.

You opened your eyes and let out an annoyed sigh when two other people joined Ivan and you in the pew, a tall, large breasted woman sitting between Ivan and you while a smaller woman with long blonde hair sat beside Ivan, much to his discomfort, and clung to his arm as he shifted away and scooted closer to the other woman next to him. "Ivan, why didn't you come over?" The older one asked in Russian, shooing the younger woman away from Ivan's arm before continuing.

"старшая сестра, I-I –"

"Can you people please keep quiet during the mass?" you snorted in a quiet tone, glaring at Ivan before sighing and looking back forward to the front. They stared at you in confusion, obviously stunned by your comment, before slumping into the pew and staring to the front. A sly smirk plastered itself on your face until you heard the mass was beginning, standing up along with everyone else and singing along with the music being sung.

You noticed that the woman on the other end of the pew was staring at you in a rather creepy way, a look of killing you right where you stand if it weren't for the two other people between you and the other woman. The woman sitting next to you would glance over at you and whispered into Ivan's ear, which he shook his head and looked away, trying to keep a red tint from entering his cheeks. You didn't know why, but you shrugged off the presence of the people beside you and paid attention to the mass, your mind deeply involved in everything that was said and sung until the very end. Once everyone started to leave you turned to Ivan, who was sitting quietly as the older woman talked to him and giggled slightly under her breath. "… Ivan," you began, getting their attention, "who are these two women? –"

"I'm Ukraine," the woman sitting next to you smiled, "and our little sister Belarus. Right младшая сестра?" The woman beside Ivan simply nodded, clinging to him tighter as he cringed and tried to move away.

"Ah," you answered with a nod back, though you didn't like the look the woman named Belarus was giving you.

"You work for Америка, да?" Ukraine asked with a smile.

"O-oh yes," you answered with a smile, "I do. New, but we'll see if I stay –"

"I think you should leave me with brother," the woman named Belarus said, Ukraine shaking her head as you looked over at the other woman and was met with angry dark blue eyes.

"Natasha, be nice –"

"I see you walking vith brother. He not like you, right большой брат?" Natasha asked, Ivan unable to answer her as you stood up and walked around the pew so you were looking at her face to face.

"_Is that so~~?_" you responded, setting you head down on the pew in front of her and staring her down with your own glare. "You like to stalk your own brother? Isn't that a bit obscene?"

"Obscene? –"

"If you want to get your brother's attention you shouldn't go around threatening people who are trying to be nice to him," you smirked, noticing Natasha's confused gaze on you. "In fact if you want your brother to be happy you shouldn't try to hurt those who make your brother happy, but hurt those who threaten him. _Hmmm~~_ Natasha? Or should I show you in a more threatening way –"

"You don't know what большой брат needs –"

"What he wants is for you to stop clinging to his arm," you continued, your hand moving behind your back to grab a weapon hidden under your clothes just in case this woman didn't reason with you. "Trust me, I know how it is to have an older brother you adore, but if you don't give the man room he'll avoid you. So how about you let Ivan go, please Natasha?" Natasha glared at you, but slowly let go of his brother's arm. In an instant Ivan shifted away and stood up from the pew, you raising an eyebrow at him as he nervously smiled to you. "Better?"

"Большое спасиб –"

"Без проблем," you smirked, getting up and sighing as you decided it was time to leave.

"W-wait a second!" The older woman said, your head looking back around at them as you stared at the woman confused, "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"

"Ummm… sure I guess," you shrugged, giving the woman a smile as you tugged on the black strap around your side, "but if you don't mind I'll have to take a few calls first."

"Да, go ahead," Ukraine smiled, you giving the woman a nod and walking faster than them out of the building so you could open your cell phone and answer the calls you had been getting during the whole mass.

)(*&^%$# !

! #$%^&*()

You let out a tired sigh, your head hitting you pillow as you looked up to the ceiling. It took you weeks to remember every country, every name, and every secretary. There are still a few countries you didn't fully know about, but you wanted to fix that problem in the future. During the day you ushered Alfred around the city and at night you would fill out his paperwork while he went to sleep. Whatever had to be signed and dotted by the country himself you waited till morning to wake Alfred up, since he always showed up late you learned to give him time to sleep before waking him. If this arrangement did work out you would be relieved because going back and forth from the hotel room to Alfred's house was becoming a pain. You rubbed your eyes in exhaustion, letting your eyes close as you thought to yourself.

The past few weeks have been interesting. You were always seeing Arthur and Joseph around because Alfred always wanted to hang out with Arthur, and even though you've forced this habit you called almost everyone by their first names now because Alfred does and everyone expected you to also. Not only that, but they wanted you to so you let them call you by your first name instead of by your whole name. Sometimes Francis and Julien would be there to torment Arthur, though you hated Julien's advances towards you. Luckily Joseph noticed your hesitations and would butt into the conversations and defend you, but you simply watched as all the emotions unfold every single day. Then from time to time Matthew and Rachel would show up and when that happened you would talk happily with Rachel while ignoring everyone else. Sometimes you would talk to Matthew too and ask from time to time if he was getting good snow at his place. You liked talking to Matthew because you always love going to Canada for vacation, so you discussed a lot about his home whenever the others were gathered together. While you were with Alfred this was the group you were usually forced to hang out with during the week, since Alfred liked to be social and always promised to go places even though he didn't tell you beforehand.

At your free time during the world meetings you would go to Alfred's house and clean around his place, but by now you've already cleaned up his entire house to the point that all that you would have to do is take out the trash from time to time, grab any loose clothing and sometimes use his washer and dryer, and go out almost every day to buy groceries. The man seemed to eat and eat whatever he could find, so you didn't buy a lot and when you'd go to his house you'd notice that almost all but a few little cans would be gone. You didn't mind buying the food, but you had to stay on budget and wanted to keep the money you were earning for yourself and not for him. Sometimes, while you were walking about the city, someone would say that Alfred hadn't paid his tab so you would either pay or tell them they will get the money by the end of the week and make a mental note to go back. Alfred was always buying un-necessities, which was one of the things that infuriated you, but you let that slide and would simply feed him less. You were able to put him into a habit of eating at home, at least for dinner unless it was business related, because he liked your cooking. You had doubts because he says that anything is good, but after you cooked the burgers for him Alfred wanted you to make more and more and eventually you began to anticipate when he'd want food. He always bought snacks and fast food, but you were slowly weaning him away from those types of products because it was one of your requirements to do so. It would take some time, but hopefully Alfred will see the benefits of having a stable healthy diet; yet you would never call it diet. He would stop in an instant.

Since your free time increased after his house was clean, you began to walk around the city more and see all you could see. Occasionally you should run into someone you met at the meetings, country or secretary, and you would go have lunch with them. There were some countries that would show up to the meetings and others never did. You ran into a brown haired country with a curl that called himself Romano and seemed to despise you for no reason whatsoever. He called himself Southern Italy and argued that his other brother was the one who went to the meetings. You realized the other Italy was the one who had startled you and threw his arms up in the air, but you also recalled that he was always sitting by Germany during the meetings so many he stayed in the same place the other Italian did. There was another country you had seen at the meetings and he called himself Prussia, also Gilbert. Apparently Gilbert Weillschmidt was the eastern half of Germany, but since Germany was a whole country it confused you when he introduced himself as Prussia. You had to research what Prussia was and saw that it was a region of land almost exactly where Germany was today. He was a fun guy and the two of you would meet up at a pub from time to time to drink. He talked about the past, laughed about the little things Ludwig did, and answered your questions between drinks. He would order a beer, you would either have beer or vodka, and the two of you would talk casually about all sorts of things. He was the type of man that knew a lot about other people, but when you talked about Ivan Gilbert told you to stay away from the country. You didn't understand why, but by the look on his face you saw a tinge of fear and anger.

Regardless it took you a long time to understand the interwoven relationships between the countries. Some were hostile, others were friendly, but they fluctuated from time to time. The secretaries didn't put time and effort into understanding the other countries, and only placed their energy into understanding their own countries and their problems with others. You did too, but the love-hate relationships between countries were rather fascinating and if you stayed you wish to understand every single problem and dilemma. Every Sunday you took time to go to the Russian Orthodox mass and pray, and run into Ivan and his sisters every single time. Afterward the four of you would go out for breakfast and sometimes your whole day would be derived of walking through the streets with Ivan and his sisters. You liked how Ivan was always shy when it came to his sisters and was a stoic man to everyone else. A different atmosphere after following Alfred all day, thus you liked the differences. Yet you never talked about work and neither did he. Katyusha would try to get information from you, but you never said a word. It was nice to talk to a group of people who knew Russian because the people you are usually speaking Russian to were your own family and sometimes if you have to for your job. It was nice to be casual with all the countries and secretaries, but you could tell that they all had their secrets and sometimes they would put on acts, as you did.

The secretaries were another problem. Each had a secret past like yourself and no one shared what it was. Rachel seemed to be the only secretary that vaguely shared why she was chosen to be Matthew's secretary, but you quickly realized that every secretary had special skills. They knew how to fight and protect, were smart, and could be a liable threat if you ran into each other on different circumstances. Yet each one of them was nice in their own bazaar ways and so were you. There seemed to be some mutual understanding that if you work for a country then the countries as well as the secretaries have your back, unless you are at war with one another. That was a different tale because everyone has been trying to keep peace for several decades, including Alfred. You knew that the American economy wouldn't be able to cope with another war, even if they wanted to. Yet in the back of your mind you had a feeling a war would happen soon enough, but how and when was a different story. It was only a matter of time, since it's simply nature's way to have conflict and the countries are that way all the time. Alfred seemed to get on every country's bad side and even though he kept a grin on his face you could tell he was hiding hints of anger and sadness at other countries as they did with him, so if you stayed you wanted to pry into his problems further and see the man behind the mask.

You slowly opened your eyes, a pout on your face as you continued to think. The end of the month was almost here and you didn't know if Alfred would keep you or not. You had done a lot of things for the man, but yet there were areas that you doubted the relations were strong and well grounded. The secrets were prying into your mind and you didn't like having to keep them, but if you didn't then your whole assignment will be in jeopardy and you don't know what'll happen after that. You finally got to talk to your family every day and you didn't want to lose that bond again. You had a feeling that if you stayed the country would open up to you more, but if you didn't then the two of you would have to move on. What you knew he was uncertain about was Ivan, or Russia. There was still bad blood between the two countries and you knew that, and the fact that you were always meeting up with the man during your breaks didn't help your case. You weren't sure about Ivan either, you'll admit that, but something internally drew you towards the man. Maybe it was because he was Russia, maybe because of the man himself, but you really didn't know why.

Plus the man seemed to pop up wherever you went. If you went to a bar he would be there a few minutes later or already be there. If you went out to eat by yourself he was either already there or showed up later then you. If you were simply walking through a park you would run into him in some way, which was odd because the only other countries you were with so intimately was Alfred and Arthur because Alfred always wanted to talk to Arthur. So why did this man always show up? Why was he always there? You sighed and shook your head, finally lifting your head up off of your bed and began to walk around your hotel room. You knew there was a reason for Alfred to be suspicious, and you didn't blame him. Russia may be trying to pry information out of you and you may be giving it to him. In reality you weren't. You never did and he never said a thing to you about his own problems, but he seemed to like your company and to be honest you liked his. It also broke your heart to hear other countries speaking ill of the man and avoiding him. You didn't know why, but they intentionally avoiding the country whenever they walked past and would ask you later why you were with the man. You couldn't answer them because you didn't know why yourself. You just liked talking to the man about little details like the weather and the food they were eating.

You suddenly heard a knock on your door and looked through the peephole to see who it was, a delivery man for a package for you? You cautiously opened the door and signed off for the package, waiting for the man to leave before opening the package to see what was inside. Your eyes lit up when you saw what was inside, a care package from your family! You never gave them your address for fear of their information being traced back to you, but you had made a deal through the agency to get packages and letters from time to time. It was irregular to get one so quickly though. Usually it took a few months before you got a letter sent a few weeks ago, but you decided it was a good thing and brought the package inside, closing the door and locking it before placing your package on your bed.

! #$%^&*()

**A/N: Oh wow! Sort of went fast there XD So there's a major time skip, from the start of your employment to the end of the month. I'll probably change the summary after a chapter or two, since this story doesn't stop for a while and I have a bigger idea now. I don't know what I'll put down, but I'll think of something ;3 And yes, I think the Russia I've been writing seems a bit OOC. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but I'll try my best to make him as Russia/Ivan like as I can =D If you guys have any comments on how I can perfect my story please respond. It'd be nice to hear what my readers have to say =3 Well I won't keep you now. SEE YOU LATER!**

_старшая сестра_ – Russian – _big sister _

_Привет_ – Russian – _hi _

_Добро пожаловать_ – Russian – _welcome_ (to greet someone)

_младшая сестра_ – Russian – _little sister _

_большой брат_ – Russian – _big brother_


	6. The Sunny Package

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Hey guys. Well here's the next chapter. A both fun and sad chapter at the same time ^^ I actually would have posted this sooner, but I got busy doing activities with friends I barely get to see now that we go to different colleges and I had to go with my family camping this weekend. We went to Bent's Fort and stayed the night at the Koshare. It was great =3 My dad's troop did that last year too, but we probably won't do it next year just because it gets repetitive after a while. Anyways here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it. If you have any comments of questions don't be afraid to ask and I'll see you at the end. ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

You smiled a toothy grin as you walked, Alfred munching on a sandwich in his hand as his eyes lit up. "Why is this so tasty -insert-your-name-?! –"

"Because it's not the crappy fast food you eat all the time," you snorted, gripping a small crate in your hand tightly to your chest as you smirked at him. "Blackberry jam, old family recipe. And I'll give you a hint, there's some vodka in there," you chuckled, munching on your own sandwich with your free hand as Alfred walked casually beside you.

"And you have a crate full of stuff _because~_ –"

"I told you," you huffed as they turned a corner in haste, "I wanted to hand some stuff out. If I'm not staying then I should give the stuff I promised to everyone: a jar of gooseberry and blackberry jam for Arthur and Joseph, some five year old aged red wine for Francis, and some apple jam from Matthew and Rachel while in turn they promised me a jar of maple syrup." You licked your lips in anticipation, a chuckle escaping Alfred's lips at your toothy grin. "You said so yourself, the letter from my boss will be at your house by tonight and if I'm not staying I'll leave tomorrow… What's with that look?"

"_Well~~_" Alfred shrugged, "I-I didn't think you would go to such great lengths to make friends with everyone. Plus how did you get all this stuff –"

"I called my family and made an order," you smirked, "and they were excited to give me a package full of stuff to give away. Figured I'd do so now, since everyone will be leaving each other soon anyways. A few more months here and then everyone will go home, right? And they didn't really give me addresses to their homes so I can't simply send them a package. So I thought 'now or never', right?"

"I guess," Alfred nodded, "… but can I be honest?"

"Yeah go ahead," you told him, the two of you stopping on the sidewalk as he stared at you in an oddly serious way.

"… You seemed to make a lot of friends here," he began with a frown, "even when every country has a reason to hate me. I don't know how you did it, but you did good!"

You smiled at his enthusiasm, noticing the smile growing on his face. "Well it was part of the job description a-and to be honest with you I have problems making friends, but everyone is nice and I was nice back so it wasn't as difficult as it seemed."

"I noticed," Alfred began, his face slowly growing grim again, "and I had my doubts too because your folder described you to be cold and ruthless. I thought that would display in your personality."

"Well it didn't," you snorted, looking down at the ground and shuffling your feet slightly. "… I have been running from something for years now," you revealed to the man and shook your head, "and after being home for a while I realized that I can't keep running away from my fears. I can't stay angry and vengeful forever, and after I was brought to this assignment I knew I couldn't keep hounded in my ways… but hey if I leave I'll leave learning something about myself." You winked at the man and chuckled lightly, "So it's not for nothing."

"… What I've been worried about," Alfred sighed as he shifted back into the wall and looked up at the sky, "is your constant involvement with the commie bastard." You blinked in confusion upon hearing those words, realizing how much he must hate Ivan. "Why?"

"For one don't call him a commie bastard," you grumbled, setting your crate down to glare at the man, "because it's insulting and you're also insulting me."

"… I am? –"

"My family has heavy ties with our Russian brethren, okay?" You growled slightly, your hands on your hips as you continued. "… To be perfectly honest I wouldn't care, but after being shoved around in the schoolyard because of my past and being insulted with every name under the sun I can get a bit snappy when it comes to names like that. So please, don't call him that."

"Sorry! –"

"It's okay," you sighed and shook your head, "You didn't know." You paused for a moment, a sharp chuckle escaping your breath as Alfred looked at you confused. "I don't know why, but that man keeps showing up." You shrugged, looking up to the sky as you thought, "… Maybe it's the things I do. Maybe my past is catching up with me again. I don't know. It happens from time to time. Perhaps Ivan is trying to spy on me, maybe get information… but I'll be honest it's nice to talk to someone in a casual way in Russian," you smiled to yourself and looked down at the cobblestone ground. "… I never did in America. When I was on missions I only spoke in Russian to get information… He doesn't seem to want information from me. I don't know why he's always showing up and trying to start a conversation with me, but it's nice then always looking over my shoulder expecting someone to kill me."

"… I don't want you to get hurt from this -insert-your-name-," Alfred commented, your head looking at him confused as he shook his head before chuckling lightly. "Russia is a very manipulative country. In fact he changes his mood in extreme ways that even creeps me out –"

"You have mood swings too Alfred," you told him with a shrug. "Everyone does from time to time… there's something about me you don't know, and I don't know if I should say it." You confessed, Alfred looking over at you with a slight frown on his face. "… I joined the army because of a sudden tragedy in the family," you told him coldly, your eyes narrowing on the ground as you remembered the distant memory, "… The eldest and my father died in an 'accident'… but I never believed it was an accident." You huffed slightly, an angry aura beginning to radiate from your body as you continued, "They said my father died of a heart attack, but didn't really explain why my sister died and I feel guilty about it. They said they would come home… but they didn't… and I was going through a hard time in school, so I left and never looked back… till recently. My family is hiding something from me. My mother doesn't even know or my other family members. I don't even think my father completely knew… it just happened… I searched for answers and I still am… I dedicated most of my life in trying to find the reason for their deaths… but yeah. If I leave here I'll probably end up going home and figure out the reason why certain members of my family are hiding things from me."

"I can relate," Alfred chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest as he thought. "England was like that when I met him. He only told me certain things about himself, and I didn't know till later and after my independence all the things he had done for me… I regret the fact that I had to leave Arthur, but if I hadn't I wouldn't have grown and become the powerful nation we are… though now… we're suffering problems and you know that."

"I do," you nodded, "I do… I just figured I should tell you what's going on. I'm used to being alone. I'm not surprised if you want me to leave. I'd rather have myself leave." Alfred looked at you confused as you shrugged and grabbed the crate from the ground, giving him a smile as you continued, "But I enjoyed our time together. I learned a lot about my own country and it was nice to meet you Alfred F. Jones."

"As do I -insert-your-name-," he smirked, "now how about we meet up with Arthur and we can discuss this later."

"Yeah sure," you chuckled, gripping the crate tighter to your chest as you smiled happily, "later sounds fine. Let's not damper the mood, right Alfred?"

"Right," he grinned back, the two of you looking over your shoulders as if you felt something following you. Then the two of you chuckled lightly to each other and shrugged off the feeling, deciding it was the wind and continuing on your way.

! #$%^&*()

You walked to everyone who was in the bar, laughing with them and handing them presents you were meaning to give them. This went on for twenty five minutes till you gave a gift to every person you knew whom you could find, a sigh escaping your lips as you sludgy sat down next to Joseph as he sipped his drink. "About time you come back," he smirked, though you rolled your eyes at his comment and gave him a pout.

"Hey I just don't want to leave without saying goodbye," you huffed.

"How do you know if you're leaving?" he decided to ask, your mind pausing as you shook your head and poured yourself a mug of beer.

"… I have a feeling," you shrugged and sat back in your seat to sip your drink, "and even if I'm not it'd be better to hand all this stuff out now then later."

"Do you **want** to leave?" Joseph continued to ask, but their conversation was cut short when a familiar man with messy white hair and bright red eyes roughly patted you on the back.

"Guten tag -insert-your-name-!" Gilbert laughed happily, his brother trailing behind him with a stern look in his bright crystal blue eyes.

"Gil, I was hoping you'd show your face!" you laughed back, grabbing your crate and pulling a small wrapped gift for him. "I got you something."

"Oh?" Gilbert looked at you confused, a smirk on your face when you handed him the gift.

"It's not much, but I made it myself," you chuckled, watching as he unwrapped the present and gasped in astonishment. "Yeah it's a beer mug," you joked and poked one of the little icons on the side, "I remember we were talking about various beers and I told you that I like to craft little doodads. So I made this a few weeks ago and it's all done now. You like it?"

"I love it!" Gilbert laughed happily and patted you on the shoulder again, staring at the mug in awe as you grinned back at him.

"Oh and Ludwig, I got you some beer," you continued, handing the man three six-packs of beer as he eyed you suspiciously. "My town brews that beer so I hope you like it. Probably isn't as good as the German stuff, but I don't know because I usually can't tell the difference with beers –"

"Well let's pop this open West and celebrate!" Gilbert laughed, grabbing a can from Ludwig and popping the can open.

"… What are we celebrating –"

"A job well done? I don't know, but this stuff looks good!" he smirked, Ludwig rolling his eyes as he set the cans of beer down and popped open his own can.

Gilbert threw you a can and you eyed him suspiciously, the white haired man winking at you as he began to drink down the beer and his eyes instantly lit up. "… W-wow! You made this?"

"My town does," you told the men with a grin on your face, "but my family usually doesn't grow any of the crops. We simply help the town make the drinks if they need it."

"Well this is great!" Gilbert laughed, "right West?"

"Ja," Ludwig answered, closing his eyes for a moment as he tilted his head back and drink down a large gulp of the beer, "ja, danke -insert-your-name-. Very good."

"Oh you're welcome –" You suddenly paused, noticing a man walking into the bar and your eyes lit up. "I'm glad you like it Ludwig," you chuckled lightly, standing up suddenly and setting the can of beer next to Joseph's hand, "I hope you enjoy the gift. Say Joseph, can you watch Alfred for me again? I need to hand out a few more gifts."

"Yeah sure," he shrugged, his eyes widening when your presence was replaced with Gilbert's and a beer can was shoved into his face to drink from.

A smile was on your face as you walked up to the man, his mind not registering you till you sat down on a stool beside him and gave him a toothy grin. "Добро пожаловать –"

"Привет Ivan," you greeted back and took the small gift out of your hands and set it on the table, "I wanted to give you something."

"F-for me? –"

"Well I got something for everyone, but I remembered what we talked about early this month and I had to give you this since it came in the mail," you tried to explain, though the man stared at you confused as he unwrapped the present and stared at the small box in his hand. "… Its sunflower seeds," you told him, his eyes widening as he opened the box to stare at the seeds inside, "some of the best of the crop. I have some instructions in there so you can grow your own, even in a cold place like Russia. If you make a green house for a nice warm place for plants you can grow practically anything! I told you I would give you the seeds and I got everything in the mail so… yeah –"

You let out a yelp as the man grabbed you in a hug, Ivan snuggling his head into the crook of your shoulder. You were very confused by his actions till he began to laugh, not a sad laugh but a joyous laugh that reminded you of the laughter of excited children. "Большое спасибо, спасибо! You didn't have to do this for me –"

"I wanted to," you smiled to him, letting him crush you in a hug. "Besides I don't really know if I'll be staying –"

"You leave?" Ivan stared at you confused, a sigh escaping your lips as you gently pushed him away so you were seeing into his bright purple eyes.

"Maybe," you shrugged, "I can't be sure. It depends if my report is good and the agency decides to keep me here, but if not I'll be going back home."

"… Vu don't sound depressed –"

"Well I'm not," you responded. "I-I would like to spend some time traveling the Americas for a while, if I'm going home. If not… well it's not like this place is bad or anything. I rather enjoy my stay here, but don't take this the wrong way. I've had fun with you and Alfred and Arthur and Gilbert and everyone else. I just… if I'm get to go home I'd like some time off to relax. I don't really know how Alfred sees me, okay? So don't take it the wrong way, and the government may want me somewhere else… I hope you can understand."

"… I suppose –"

"But let's not think about that!" You smirked, ordering a shot of vodka and grinning at him deviously. "I just want you to enjoy the seeds! And I also have something for you at my hotel room, but it's sort of tall and I didn't want to break it if I walked around the street with it."

"V-vat is it? –"

"You'll see," you winked and quickly had your drink, your name being called by Alfred as Arthur looked as if he was going to pass out. "Now I got to go, but could you show up at my hotel at about eleven or midnight so I can give you the extra gift?... You know what; maybe I'll just show up at your house. It'd be easier that way."

"Д-да, if you wish –"

"Great! I'll see you," you waved, walking away from the man as he stared at your back confused and looked down at the seeds in his hands. Ivan gently placed his hands on them, grabbing the sheet of paper that was tucked on the side. A grin formed on his face seeing that the notes were written in Russian and in your handwriting, a sigh escaping his lips when he put the note and seeds away in his pockets and went back to drinking the bottle of vodka that was placed in front of him.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

The night had been entertaining and fun once everyone had a few drinks, and Arthur entertained everyone as he went on with his usual babble at Alfred. You couldn't help but snicker at the thought as Arthur suddenly started to sing into a cup, Joseph knowing it was time for the country to sleep before things went too far. Alfred and you agreed it had indeed went too far three drinks ago, but you only mumbled your comment to Alfred and that was the end of the conversation. The rest of the time you watched the countries and secretaries interact with each other, a smile on your face as you watched them. You didn't want to leave, but once Gilbert and Ludwig left with Francis, the country of Spain, and little Italy, Alfred and you decided to depart after that. You wondered when Ivan had gotten up and left, but after your fifth drink you figured he decided to leave and go home. Gilbert would laugh and comment about how much alcohol you could drink without getting drunk, but you didn't say anything since the man was close to falling on his ass anyways.

The walk back to Alfred's house was long. It was troubling in the back of your mind that you may never see them again, but then again you had done your job and that was to make friends. You will have to review your folders to make sure you had done everything correctly, but you thought you had done fairly well. If Alfred didn't like you or the government wanted you elsewhere that was the end of it. You will go back to your life in the states and be fine with the decision. You had some family business to attend to anyways and it was hard to understand what everyone was saying while you were gone oversees for years on end. Either way you were both excited and exhausted with the ending result, Alfred opening the door for you as you walked inside and took off the coat you were wearing before setting the crate you held against the wall. The country also seemed to feel grim about the idea and you wondered if it was because he knew what the result would be or he didn't know himself. Your eyes followed Alfred till he disappeared down a hallway, the lights turning on as you heard a chuckle and make your way into his office. "What's so funny –"

"You know I don't really know what the results will be," he smirked, holding out his hand to you as you both got ready to sit down, "but whatever the result is it has been an honor having you work for me. I'm curious of your past, but seeing as you won't tell me I'll just assume you'd be leaving because of them."

"That's right," you nodded, the two of you sitting down once you shook hands and he began to shuffle around his desk looking for the right folders and envelopes. "If I leave it'll be because of my family. I don't know why, but there are some hidden problems that, if given the time, I will find on my own."

"I see," Alfred responded. "… Before we open the letter let me show you the file I received."

"O-oh Alfred you don't have to –"

"I'd rather," he smirked, pulling out the folder from under his desk and handing you its contents. "From what I've noticed you've been oblivious to what the agency says about you. I think it's about time you see what it says because I expected a different person then what was given."

"Sure," you agreed, opening the file and placing the contents on the edge of his desk. You slowly read through the file, your face growing grimmer and grimmer as you continued to read what the American government sees in you:

'Code Name: Agent 538-6907: Silent Blood

'Real Name: -insert-your-name-

'Age: -insert-your-age-or-older-

'Proficiencies: Master's degree in Criminal Justice and International Affairs; Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Business and management, and Psychology; Skilled marksman with rifles and pistols; Olympic level biathlon and marksman: Won first place in Biathlon Junior World Championships and fifth place in the Junior Summer Shooting Sports Olympics; Hired personal assassin and bodyguard

'Assignment: Agent 538-6907 is a - year old agent under constant watch of the - agency. (past is problematic and needs further investigations) Agent assigned under the watchful care of nation's secret man, Alfred F. Jones of the United States of America, until further notice.

'History: Grown up in - to a farmhouse family. Grandparents on mother's side recently emigrated from Russia (private investigations will look into the matter). Joined ballet, ballroom dancing, and marksman classes at age 5. By high school left all extracurricular activities, except for marksman training. Joined the Junior Olympics at age 13, but retired early at age 16. Joined the army at age 18 and became a top-ranked combat specialist within a year of training. Became a member of - agency at age 22 and began college studies under - at - training facility. Finished studies in - and began assignments in -.

Father, -, and eldest sister, -, died in public shooting in Lagos, Portugal on June 8, - by unexplainable circumstances. Ever since, agent left all activities and engulfed efforts into improving marksmanship and self training in computer specialist. First languages: English and Russian. Third languages: Polish, German, and French. Six languages: Latin, Celtic, and ancient Greek. (see attached form for current skills).'

You frowned and turned the pages, your eyes skimming the contents and wondering why the man was making your read the files again:

'To: Alfred F. Jones

'From: - Agency, - Division under the United States of America

'RE: -insert-your-name-

'Dear Mr. Jones,

'We are disappointed to see that another agent has been rejected strongly to work for you as a secretary. We will be sending a woman of the middle class, another agent you must keep an eye over.

'We wish to warn you that this Agent 538-6907 is a dangerous woman and we have suspicion to believe that she is working for the Russian government as a spy. She is, in her own right, a born and raised citizen of the United States of America, but as for her family affairs we cannot say. We have a hunch to believe her family is hiding assets in several different countries and may have control over dangerous underground organizations. We have placed Agent 538-6907 under you care so you, in turn, can spy on her for us. She could be a communist, socialist, terrorist, and a threat to our common good.

'Regardless, I hope you get along with the woman for her personality is a rough and strict stone.

'This assignment is a way to both test and keep a close eye on Agent 538-6907. If she stays for the long term we wish for you to write back her progress and any illegal activities while she works under your care. Send us a letter monthly and promptly over this woman's activities within and outside of your own. She is a trained assassin and born killer, so do keep watch over her and make sure she doesn't kill anyone in a rash way.

'We wish you luck, Mr. Jones, and hope to have a report by the end of the month.'

"… I see," you pouted, sitting back in your chair and thinking to yourself, "… you think I'm a communist, don't you Alfred?"

"I have my suspicions," he shrugged, sitting back in his own chair and eying you unsurely, "but I know for a fact that you met Russia for the first time as well as his secretary, Zavid Magnovska. You didn't know them. If you recognized them at first glance I'd probably feel, in my best interest, that you are indeed a spy… but that's not the case." Alfred gave you a smirk, handing you a sealed envelope for you to open. "The problem is that you're hanging out with Russia too much and that'll raise suspicions. Plus I worry if you get too close to the man… He shouldn't be trusted. Not because he's a commie or a left-wing socialist, but because we've been at conflict for years now and since the Cold War years ago I can't see him in a good light. You must understand, -insert-your-name-, for my hesitation. If I continue to send back reports of your constant private interactions with Russia the agency will fire you and I'll have to find another secretary… and to be honest -insert-your-name-," he sighed and gave you a smile, "I'd rather keep you then lose you. You're friendly, in your own little way, and that's giving the other countries reason to trust us. So whatever the letter says… now you know what my idea of you was."

"Thank you," you nodded, grabbing a letter opener from his desk and giving him a weak smile, "and I understand the hesitation… I would be too. Just… my assignment was to be friendly to everyone I met. Get them to trust me. That's a hard assignment for me to do these days, but right now I'm proving to do really well! Ivan… was the first one I met, you see. I can't just blow off that relationship we've formed… but if I have no choice then I will. I'd rather stay under the radar then have the agency breathing down my neck and wondering what I'm up to… So I'll keep your words in mind and it's been nice working for you Mr. Jones." You gave him one last smile before all emotion from your face faded, quickly opening the letter and seeing what your fate was now.

)(*&^%$# !

Zavid let out a sigh as he heard the doorbell ring, knowing that Mr. Braginski wouldn't get it himself and briskly walked over to the door. When he turned the corner he raised an eyebrow, noticing the man had opened the door himself and was being greeted by America's secretary. "Mr. Braginski, why is –"

"Zavid, how about you go back to your reading. -insert-your-name- and I need to talk, да?" Ivan responded with a smile, Zavid giving you a hesitant look before looking back to Ivan and gave him a nod. Zavid knew how Mr. Braginski can be and had a feeling that the look on your face wasn't a happy one. He heard you may be leaving tomorrow, but he hadn't expected you to show up to the Russian's house. Nevertheless he let them be, but kept his ears open in case the man did something… unsightly to little poor you.

Once Russia's secretary left you let out a tired sigh, giving Ivan a smile as you revealed the secret gift behind your back. "It's a sunflower," you grinned happily, noticing Ivan's purple eyes lighting up while he stared down at you in shock, "and it's one of the smaller ones we picked and decided to keep for the winter. A beautiful one, yes? And I thought you'd like one since you're always saying you like sunflowers –"

"-insert-your-name- it's magnificent!" Ivan laughed happily and pulled you into the house, a squeak escaping your lips as you were crushed into the man's chest and the door closed behind you suddenly. You narrowed your eyes at the closed door, knowing that you may have to leave in a hurry and you had to make sure that door stayed unlocked. "…-insert-your-name-?" the man paused, noticing your silence, "Vis something wrong –"

"Yes," you sighed, pulling away from the man and giving him a slight smile as you set the sunflower down on a nearby counter. "… Ivan… I don't know how to say this, but –"

"You leaving? –"

"No actually!" you laughed suddenly, throwing your hands up before taking a step back and shaking your head. "I'm not leaving and I'm staying as America's secretary, but –"

"There a **but** -insert-your-name-?" Ivan narrowed his eyes, and you didn't like the strange purple aura beginning to radiate over his head and the chill suddenly in the hall they were standing in.

"… It's not like I want to do this," you sighed, hoping he'd understand, "but… I have a past, you see, and the agency I work for sees me as a spy… and the fact that I keep talking to you and Natasha and even Katyusha during my break over the weekend has the government… hounding on me. I can't have them breathing down my neck Ivan… I'm sorry, but I can't keep seeing you during my breaks if it'll threaten my operations here –"

Your eyes widened in shock when you were suddenly thrown back against the door, feeling a fear you hadn't before as you felt the gloom hanging over the country seem to grow. "I… see…" Ivan mumbled quietly, your ears trying to hear him as he mumbled something in Russian quickly. "You… hate me –"

"No!" you shorted, grabbing the arm that was against your shoulder and trying to pry him away, "It's not like that! I just told you! I can't have that American government spying on me like they have been. I need some freedom Ivan! Maybe once they stop staring at me with their 'Uncle Sam' eyes I can talk with you again, but not right now. It's too risky –"

"You can always leave them," Ivan insisted, your eyes looking up to notice the dark look on his face. Yet you were starting to notice, past your own fears, were frightened eyes as if he was a child and you were saying you would leave him forever. Now that you think about it, the pained look in his eyes reminded you of yourself when you tried to convince your father and older sister to stay in town before they… left.

You looked at him with sympathy, but there was nothing you could do. You had to break this tie. It was too tight and if he wouldn't loosen his grasp you will have to break the string all together. "… Ivan I can't –"

"You become one with Mother Russia, да?" he tilted his head to the side, a devious and frightening grin growing on his face.

Before he could become more scary for you your hands reached up to his face, his eyes widening in shock as the purple haze over his head faltered suddenly, a smile on your face as you gently rubbed the hair from his face and cuffed his cheeks in your chilled hands. "нет Ivan… нет." You paused for a few seconds, a sigh escaping your lips as you continued, "N-no I can't because… I told you, I have family in Russia, but there is a reason why I stay away from them and if you can't loosen your grip on me I'll just have to break the tie all together. That's not something I want to do Ivan, but if it comes down to that I will have to. Just…" You stopped and looked to the ground, your hands starting to fall from his face as you drooped your shoulders.

Ivan pressed one of your hands back on his cheeks with his own hands and stared down at you, his face staring at you in a neutral and frightening tone that even you can tell was his display of annoyance. "… You leave to Россия –"

"No Ivan!" you groaned and shook your head, a tear beginning to shed down your face while you tried to keep yourself from crying. "I just… can't do that okay? Maybe later, I said that already. I want to go back home, I want to see my family. I want to figure out what mess my older brother is in… so please don't do this to me. Don't make me choose. My family comes first Ivan, it has to. **Always**. Without them I'm just alone. So please, can we just… slow down? N-not just for my sake, but it's also for you. You d-don't want to get close to me… my past gets complicated and if you come too close you'll… end up dead too, Russia or not."

He gave you a dark stare, a chill going down your spine as you stared up at him, but you had to get your way. If you didn't then you couldn't see him again. You felt his hand reach up to your face and flick your tear away, flinching from the sudden movement before he let you go. You let out soft pants once he took a few steps back, your mind finally noticing that you had been holding your breath the entire time. You flinched slightly when he grabbed for the door and opened it, expecting him to do something worse, but all he did was open the door and stay at his distance from you. "Leave," Ivan said roughly, your mouth almost dropping when you stared at him in disbelief.

"B-but Ivan –"

"Уходить," he repeated in Russian, this time in a sterner voice as he looked at you through his white hair and glared at you. "Пока-insert-your-name-. **Пока**."

"Fine," you snorted, turning your back on him and giving him a glare as you stepped out into the cold, "if you're going to be that way then goodbye Russia." Then you roughly slammed the door on him, his gaze never leaving you till the door slammed in his face.

Zavid flinched at the sight, watching as Ivan continued to stare at the closed door in a stoic way. "… Mr. Braginski, if you want to talk about this –"

"Leave me be Zavid," Ivan mumbled in Russian, the man sighing as he shook his head and turned his back on the man. Zavid knew the man was bottling up whatever emotions he was trying to keep inside of himself, but those feelings will explode soon and if he didn't let it go now it'll come out in a worse way later. The man just couldn't believe that Mr. Braginski would have you leave like that. Without much of an explanation. You gave him one, but he didn't. Yet something intrigued Zavid. The fact that you said that you had problems with the government about being around Russia. Could it be that you had a life that you were keeping from the man? From everyone else? Whatever it was Zavid wanted to find out, but he won't be able to find out through the country anymore. He'll have to do his own snooping behind Mr. Braginski's back so he can make his monthly reports and tell his government what he found out about you.

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: Yep! There's some drama there! Will everything be okay with you and Ivan? We'll just see ^^' And yeah, your situation sucks. I just figured Ivan wouldn't give you as much of an explanation for his anger then you would. And for a mental note Alfred will be around, but this is mainly a story about you and Russia so in later chapters it'll be more about those arrangements. This is pretty much the ending point of the introductions and I hope you enjoy the next part of the story. Talk to me and I'll SEE YOU LATER!**

_Guten tag_ – German – _hello _

_Ja _– German – _yes _

_Danke_ – German – _thank you _

_Уходить_ – Russian – _leave, go, depart, withdraw, walk away_


	7. The Hidden Ache

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Well I decided to post another chapter because I've actually been working on the story, if you could believe it ^^' Either way I actually like where I'm going with this, but this story may get long. So here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy! (mainly reviewing out of boredom, but better to post something up than do nothing with the story and have writer's block ^^)**

! #$%^&*()

When Zavid woke up he let out a tired yawn, shuffling out of bed and shutting off the alarm. He went to the bathroom and went through his routine; putting contacts into his eyes and putting his suit on before closing his bedroom door and walked down the hallway. He paused, grumbling under his breath when he noticed his country was still standing at the door, a cold purple aura radiating from his body as he heard the mumbles _**'kolkolkol~'**_ leaving his breath where he stood. Zavid shook his head. Mr. Braginski should have known what would happen if he engages too personally with another person, especially the secretary for America for crying out loud! What was he thinking?! Zavid kept his distance, but crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall casually. "Sir," he exclaimed in Russian, trying to get the man's attention, "I'm making breakfast. Anything in particular you want –"

"Нет," Ivan answered roughly, "whatever you want I will eat."

"Good, good," Zavid nodded, thinking to himself as his eyes wandered to the ground. "… Sir," he began again, trying to get the man to talk to him, "your heart fell on the ground again –"

"Leave it be," he mumbled, Zavid sighing as he shook his head and pushed himself off of the wall.

"I'll make supper then. Be in the dining room in fifteen more minutes. We have a long day today meeting with Mr. Carriedo at eight, Mr. Łukasiewicz at eleven, and with Eduard Von Bock at two. Should be done by five o'clock tonight and have time to have some supper before bedtime… Make sure you've composed yourself before breakfast. You need to keep your demeanor when talking with Spain. We need him to be our allies –"

"Fine," Ivan responded, Zavid waiting for more, but once he noticed the country wasn't going to say anything he left the hallway and let Russia be. The man let out a tired sigh, the gloom still hovering over his head as he stared through the peephole out into the brightening sky. The day will be filled with sunshine today, but all he felt was a deepening lump in his stomach that would not go away. Bending down Ivan picked up his heart, the large organ that was bigger than his own hand thumping deeply in his gloves. He stared at the many cuts and bruises on his bloody heart, seeing the blood spurting out on his face. He didn't care and let a tired sigh escape his lips, thrusting his heart back into his chest as if this happened daily and turned to clean himself up for breakfast.

Then his eyes fell upon the sunflower sitting contently atop a counter, his heart falling back onto his hand as he stared at the plant basking in the sunlight. Ivan bit down on his bottom lip, surpassing his emotions as he reached for the pot and picked up the flower. He noticing a note attached to the inside of the glass and opened the plant to the elements, looking down and noticing the note was in Russian:

'_Dear Ivan,_

'_This sunflower was grown from the plains of America and one of best we've picked so far. Flowers are like the dewfall. They do not last forever, but I wish you well if you keep this flower and savor its sweet smell during your stay here. If you keep the sunflower in its container and plug in the cord attached to the small sun insulator the sunflower will grow and grow until it can grow no more. If you place a bunch of ice cubes on top of the soil, enough to cover the dirt, once every two days the plant will be able to grow without much help. Just let the plant sit next to the window, even if the day is cloudy, and the insulator will keep the plant warm even throughout the winter._

'_Ivan, I give you this sunflower with the full confidence that you can keep this flower bright and happy. The seeds can be used to replace this flower once it dies, for everything must come to an end of a life. Same goes for a sunflower and for any other sort of living being. Even if I'm gone the flowers will still be there every season, so do not worry. You told me how you worry about the plants dying in the fall. They always return in the spring, that is why there's spring! Without that winter we would never enjoy the warm weather spring brings every year. I just hope, Ivan, that you enjoy this sunflower as much as I enjoyed growing and unearthing it. I pray you stay in good health and keep yourself strong. If I am to depart I hope to see you again in the near future. Thank you for talking with me, Ivan Braginski. I barely have anyone at home that I would even consider being a potential friend and you are someone who I feel will always be near and dear to my heart. _

'_~ -insert-your-name-'_

He hadn't noticed the tear falling down his cheek until it fell upon the paper. Ivan quickly sniffed it away and put the glass back around the sunflower, cradling the flower in his arms as he rushed down the hallway and slammed the door behind him.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

Giving Alfred a wave you left him at the meeting, your head turning to come into contact with Ivan's before you left. A frown was on your face as you turned your back, biting down on your bottom lip as you left the meeting room, walked down the hallway, and down the stairs. Ever since that night Ivan wouldn't even look at you. Did you go too far? You shook your head and sighed. It had been weeks since the incident and you could tell your depression were showing through your outward masquerade. You promised yourself you wouldn't let this get you down and tried to shrug off the feelings, but having to smile and laugh every day with other people was taking your toll on you. You left Ivan in such a way that even stunned yourself, but the look in his eyes reminded you of an angry bear and if you stayed he may have done something worse than shove you into a wall. You've come across men like that before, even your own family members to be perfectly honest, and you never wanted to get hurt from someone like that again. You learned from your psychology classes that you can't leave a relationship in the middle of the fight, but if you stayed you would have gotten hurt. He scared you, you had to admit internally, but you'd never tell Ivan that and not even Alfred. You never told him you went to Russia's house that night before you moved all your stuff into America's house. That was something you kept to yourself, and it seemed Ivan had kept the fight to himself also.

You pulled on the strap over your shoulder, the _**'clinks' **_and _**'clanks'**_ of the items in your backpack making sounds as you walked while you made your way out of the city and into the countryside. It was interesting how close this city was to the rolling hills and hiking trails. The walking was just what you needed to get out of your depression and it was Alfred who advised you to go during your free time. It was odd to have your boss tell you to go out and hike, but you went nonetheless and you were glad you did. There were still a few plants growing around the trail before the chilling air could catch up to them and killed everything. You wondered if Ivan liked the sunflower. He always liked talking about sunflowers once you spoke that your family would grow them from time to time… but why are you thinking about that? Stop that! Just stop!

You snarled as you walked, grumbling a curse in Russian as you continued down the trail. You had to stop thinking about him. It's over, over! Maybe once the government stopped having their eyes on you you could try to presume Ivan again… but… you didn't want to wait. You knew that if you left him this way before you returned to the states you won't see him again. Not even see his happy grin, his bright purple eyes lighting up when he saw you… You liked him, you admitted to yourself, you actually liked him, but you can't do this to yourself! You can't let yourself get hurt again! Too many relationships have been broken because you trusted someone too much, and your heart smashed when they either betrayed you or ended up dead for your sake. You couldn't help yourself. A tear fell down your cheek as your eyes gazed down to the rocky ground. You hated how the event went down, but it happened. There's no turning back now, and Ivan was being insensitive! You explained everything and he wanted you to leave. Why? Why would he do that?!

You looked up, your eyes lighting up once you came upon a field filled with flowers. "Oh… my god…" you gasped, looking around making sure no one had been following you until you ran into the field and let childish giggles escape your lips. You picked Autumn Crocus and Redshanks, Daisies and White Clovers. You had gathered so many flowers in your hand that you hadn't noticed how far you had run out into the field, eventually sitting down under a tree as you let out a sigh and set the flowers down by your side. "Now let's see…" you mumbled under your breath, pulling out a journal. You began to press the flowers you had found between the pages, a content smile on your face as you set the most beautiful of the plants inside while your mind wandered back to your home. Your home… You missed them, oh how you missed them, but that was the past. You can't be there all the time now and you knew that. Especially now. You now know that the government was keeping an eye on you… like your distant relatives… You didn't want to think about them, those Russians, and just wanted to stay happy and content.

You pulled out your water bottle and had your fill, flipping through your journal to other pressed in flowers that had writings of their species and where you had gathered them from. This had all started as a simple project in class and evolved into a hobby you liked to do when you wanted to take your mind off of problems, mainly to relieve stress and anger. It did help, you knew that, but you wanted to know why Ivan was so mean to you, why he told you to leave in such a rough way. It reminded you when your father would be stern with you and you didn't like it one bit. There was nothing you could do, you remembered, when your father was that mad. You just had to let the man be, and that's what you would do with Ivan until he decided to see you or simply forget about you. You didn't want to forget him, but there were other problems that will probably arise and to have Russia close to you may become problematic in the future. Alfred was right, you had to let Ivan go, but in your heart you didn't want to say goodbye even when your mind said you must. Ivan came after your assignment so your assignment came first; sadly, you had to admit, your assignment came first before Ivan did.

Speaking of assignment you took out a large book and set your plant book back into your bag, deciding it was best to read up on your history lessons in case the questions arose. You had your fair share of history and you would never say you didn't know something, but since you'll be corresponding with other countries for a while you should know what you're talking about. So you slowly read through your old history book, highlighting bullet points you saw to be important and making notes on the side to refer back to later. Yet as time went on you let your eyes droop, clutching the book against your chest as you slumped against the tree. You had protection if someone decided to come by and try something funny, but you suddenly felt exhausted and just wanted to sleep… and forget about that Ivan and his country for the time being.

)(*&^%$# !

! #$%^&*()

Dark purple eyes stared at the countries across the table, a smirk appearing on Ivan's face when he managed to scare little Raivis as the little nation ducked behind Toris. Coward, he thought, and Latvia could be just the thing to get his mind off of that secretary… He shook his head, looking up at Alfred with a glare as he was talking, oblivious to the fact that Ivan was glaring at him in annoyance. It was his fault Ivan and you couldn't spend any more time together and sadly Ivan knew that. His eyes glazed down at his notebook, noticing the doodles of random little sunflowers and a few hearts here and there on the page. He hated these meetings. They seemed to keep going and going and there were still three hours till everything was over. With all those countries there Ivan couldn't get his thoughts into the conversations, but even if he wanted to Ivan didn't feel like it today. He felt rather feverish for weeks now, but the other countries didn't seem to notice so that was a good thing. Watching a verbal fight escalating across the table from him Ivan decided it was time for a break, gathering his papers and folders into his suitcase and getting up to leave the room. He gave one last devious grin to Latvia before leaving the room, a few murmurs coming from the other countries wondering why Russia was leaving, but was quickly forgotten once America said some outrageous comment and England slapped him across the head.

Walking outside Ivan felt the chill of winter in the air, narrowing his eyes at the wind as he turned on his heel and began to walk down the cobblestone sidewalk. At times like this a walk was always in order, and hopefully he wouldn't run into Zavid in the meantime. Whenever he did Ivan would have to go back to the meeting, so he hustled through the city until he came upon a dirt road. He liked how Vash had a beautiful countryside right next to the city and Ivan wondered if he would try invading the country in the future. His boss would probably be against the idea, but it honestly wasn't a bad thing. Ivan hummed as he walked, trying to get his mood up as he skipped along the trail. It was great to see that some of the flowers hadn't died from General Winter yet. Oh how he hated that man, how the flowers would die and turn to frost before the snow settled along the hills. He wanted to grab that wind by its head and wring its little neck off, but Ivan knew that was impossible. General Winter had been around long before he was and nothing he could do would stop the weather from killing his perfect little plants. Ivan pouted, thinking of the sunflower you had given him. The letter that followed made him sad and he hated the feeling in his chest whenever he thought about you. Ivan wished the pain would stop, but he knew it never would. He'd just have to go through life with another mark on his heart, another pain that will never go away –

He paused, noticing a figure against a tree out in the middle of a dying field of flowers. Ivan raised an eyebrow, wondering why someone would be out here while the frost was beginning to freeze the flowers and even the grass around. He decided to investigate, stepping off of the field and making his way across the flowers towards the person sleeping against the tree bark. He suddenly felt a knot in his chest, watching as you slept soundly against the tree with a book on top of your chest and against the side of your face. Ivan smiled. You looked so peaceful sleeping, and then he began to wonder how long you had been out there. Your face had become a little red due to the cold, but other than that you seemed fine… fine… You were doing well without him.

A dark purple gloom began to hang over his head as he realized you were doing well without him. Maybe that was the intention all along and to have you feeling better without him… Ivan didn't like that one bit. He decided to pick up the book you were reading and look at its contents, raising an eyebrow again once he noticed you had been reading a world history book. There were a lot of different highlighted marks and notes along the side, the man deciding to set his suitcase down and sit down against the bark of the tree beside you. The bright yellow highlighter seemed to be about America, his involvement in world affairs and etcetera. There were a lot of notes you had written about the man, using big words Ivan didn't know how to pronounce in English, but he quickly realized they were psychologist terms and relational dialectics. You were trying to make sense of how America fit into the small little group of countries he was with and why certain countries acted cold towards him, most countries actually. Ivan frowned, noticing you had put a lot of your attention during the Cold War and his bickering between him and Alfred.

Then something else intrigued him, the fact that you seemed to take the time to look up Russia's history too. You talked about how sad it was, in a footnote, that the undeveloped country was under the Mongol's rule and how that must of changed the man as he grew up. How cold and vast the country is, but in the current events the economy is down and how no one wants to live in Siberia. You continued to wonder how that would affect the country and something else caught Ivan's eye, you wrote in the back pages wondering why Ivan sent you away instead of tried to work out the situation. He suddenly felt bad. This whole time you had been trying to figure out why he was mad at you while he tried to avoid you. It was maddening, that's for sure, and the country didn't know what to do as he flipped through the pages and wondered what you were dreaming about. Something else fascinated him, how you had spent a lot of your time energy on the monarchies, especially the Russian monarchy: how it rose, fell, and especially the ending with Nicholas II. Ivan pouted when he read the footnote: _'How could this happen?'_ and _'Who had survived?'_ Survive? No one survived that massacre. Ivan had seen it for himself… everyone died. How could you think someone had survived? That made no sense!

Ivan flinched, watching as you shifted and your head fell onto the ground. You mumbled something in Russian that he couldn't hear, but as he looked closer he noticed a worried look on your face. You seemed to be sweating and your breaths became heavier. "Nightmare?" he thought aloud, closing the book and setting it beside his knee. The country gently wrapped his arms around you and pulled your head up onto his lap, running his gloves through your hair as you mumbled random words in agony. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe you weren't okay after all. Ivan took off a glove from one of his hands and ran his bare hand through your hair, your mumbles slowly ceased as a smile replaced the look of hurt and pain on your face. He smiled. You seemed a lot happier with his hand resting atop your head, his eyes looking up to the pale blue sky as gray clouds fluttered overhead. Ivan hadn't realized how tired he was till he closed his eyes and felt the breeze along his slightly exposed neck, a content sigh escaping his lips as he wished this moment would last forever.

! #$%^&*()

"_B-but папа," you mumbled in Russian, "why do you have to leave? старшая сестра why do you have to go too? –"_

"_We must дочь," your father responded, kneeling down and running a hand through your hair. "Please расцвет, this is for the good of our family. You remember what I told you about family, right?"_

"_Family is your number one priority and if something threatens your family you must rid that evil away," you answered back, but your eyes were still confused as you stared up at him, "but папа, I don't want you to leave. Why do you have to go to Russia? Дедушка told us to never go back there. It's bad if we go back to Russia."_

"_Pасцвет," your father frowned, "you must understand that we must go to protect you, you and little Gregory and even your большой брат Nicholas." You watched as your father's face darkened, causing you to take a step back, but you continued to stare at him with determination in your eyes hoping he'd see things your way. You had a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach and you didn't want to see them leave. Not now, not yet. "…Pасцвет, what are we?"_

"_We are -insert-last-name- папа –"_

"_Not only that," he smirked slyly, putting his hands on your shoulders, "but we are __**Romanowski**__–-insert-last-name-, right?"_

"_R-right папа!" you nodded happily, your eyes lighting up as he gave you a grin and rustled up your hair. _

"_Хорошо," he smiled, a frown coming onto your face has his hand left the top of your head to look over at someone behind you. "We must be going дочь. Come," he said roughly, a taller woman running past you as your eyes stared in shock and you began to run towards them. _

"_Wait папа!" You gasped in shock as you were suddenly pulled back, "Take me with you! Please don't leave me, please! I don't want you to go! –"_

You gasped, your eyes bolting open as you heard a ringing in your ear. You let a groan escape your lips, pushing your body off of the ground and looking over with your head in your hand. Your eyes widened in shock, noticing Ivan next to you, even more shocking was that you had been sleeping on his lap. When did that happen?! You watched as he cracked open an eye and looked over at you, his eyes quickly opening once he noticed you were awake. You stared at him confused, but shook your head to answer the ringing coming from the phone in your pocket. "Yes?" You answered in English, "This is -insert-your-name- speaking –" You paused, your eyes lighting up at the person on the other line, "Oh Бабушка!" You laughed happily, "I didn't know – Sorry," you mumbled in Russian. "Sorry ummm… why are you calling… I'm doing fine Бабушка, but why are you calling me like this? Can't this wait till tonight –… I see… but why don't you ask someone else –… I'm sorry," you snarled, "but I can't do that Бабушка. I'm not going to risk everything for **them**… but Бабушка! I can't! –… No, you don't understand! I can't possibly do that!... You're being unreasonable! – I don't care what training you suspect me of doing, but I'm not going to follow orders like that! You're my Бабушка, right? Can't you understand that I can't do work like that right now –… I don't care about the money and you shouldn't either – Don't throw папа and дедушка into this! They raised me well! That has nothing to do with them – So what?! I'm not a runt Бабушка! –… Then where is большой брат now? Exactly." You grumbled under your breath, barely noticing that Ivan was listening intently to your conversation, "If you can't tell me what's happened to большой брат then I won't help you with what you want Бабушка – I'm not your lap dog! Don't order me around like that! – I am so a part of this family! Do you know what I've done to get the government off of my back, _our~~_ backs, so I could get home!? How could you accuse me of turning against the family? I am not! –… I did… I can't really talk about that right now because… Fine," you snorted in annoyance, rolling your eyes as you pressed your back against the tree and stared down at the ground. "… I learned that the government is looking into the family affairs, but according to my own files they don't know what's going on exactly. If you order something like that **they'll know**. They'll hunt us down like rabid animals and kill us all. Is that what you want? –… Yes I'm sorry." You frowned, "I'm sorry for raising my temper… yes I love you too," you chuckled lightly. "Tell младший брат I will try to set up a date to come back –… Oh here? Maybe, if you can find me – I never said you couldn't. Just know that I don't want anyone to find me here, okay?... Okay good. I'll talk to you tonight, okay? Love you too, Бабушка. Пока." You let out a tired sigh, closing the phone before closing your eyes. You didn't really want to deal with the man sitting beside you, but seeing as he wasn't going to leave you alone you'd have to talk to him. Suddenly you turned to him and gave him a slight smile, wondering why your textbook was by his leg. "Ivan, what are you doing way out here? –"

"The meeting vas long and boring," Ivan shrugged; watching as you quickly grabbed your textbook and your plant journal and placed them into your bag. "America vouldn't stop talking about global warming."

"Yeah he does that," you smirked, but then your face slowly went grim as you tried to glare him down. "Why are you sleeping next to me like that, reading my textbook?"

"I saw you out in the field and vanted to say hello, vat you were asleep. So I did not bother you," he grinned, watching as a sigh escaped your lips and you gathered everything back into your bag before looking down at your watch.

"Ah I see…" you shook your head, noticing the meeting might be done by now and you'll have to make your way back to the building. "I-I know you're still mad, but are you going to continue to be cold to me or what?"

"Vat? –"

"You hate me don't you," you pouted at him, a frown on your face as you continued. "You don't like that I keep secrets, do you? Well I can't tell you everything, alright? You're part of my business and I have to keep my job and my family life separate. I know you were listening to me while I was arguing over the phone. Don't deny that."

"Да," Ivan nodded, "I did –"

"If that's so, don't tell anyone," you shook your head and sighed, "but I know I can't trust you… I can't have my government sticking their nose into a business that isn't theirs, okay?"

"… Are vu alright –"

"No," you snorted, standing to your feet and glaring down at him. "I think I'm out and all of the sudden I'm dragged back in… I just can't deal with this right now –"

"-insert-your-name- 'ait –"

"There's too much on my mind right now a-nd I can't fall back into love struck fetishes again –"

You jumped back startled, Ivan grabbing hold of you in a tight grip and burying his head onto your shoulder. "Don't leave so soon," he mumbled in Russian into your ear. "You're the only one who cares about me other then Katyusha and Natasha."

"B-but Ivan –"

"**Don't argue**," he snarled into your ear, but you grabbed his arms and flipped them around roughly so you were facing him.

You snarled at him and glared him down, but you kept a hold on his arm and let it unwind in your hand. You sighed as you looked at his large hand in shame, gently rubbing his palms as you thought to yourself. "… I want to find my brother," you decided to admit, keeping your eyes on his hand as he looked down at you, "and my government thinks I'm a spy even though I've never worked for other foreign nations like a spy would… I don't know why they think that nor do I know where my brother is. I want to know why; I want to know why my brother won't speak to me. I get harassed all the time Ivan… I-I can't deal with that right now. I just want my family back… okay? Can't you see that?"

"… You come to church and va breakfast," Ivan insisted, your eyes glazing up into his bright purple eyes as he slowly drew you back into a tight hug, "and maybe drink once in a vile, да?"

"Да," you smiled, squeezing his hand just slightly before pulling back and letting a giggle escape your throat, "and thank you for understanding Ivan –"

"Пожалуйста," he smirked and gave you a kiss on the forehead, your cheeks reddening at his sudden action. He paused for a second and stared down at you, causing your face to turn even redder, until he regained the normal grin on his face and snickered. "We stay hidden, да?"

"Yes Ivan," you chuckled, "we can do that." Then the two of you left the field, continuing down the path side by side as familiar as you had been before until you emerged back into the city. Ivan had you walk down a block before he started to follow you, the two of you eventually making your way back to the building where the countries were meeting. You wondered where this relationship between Ivan and you was going and what it was exactly. You thought the two of you were just friends, but maybe it was something more that you couldn't pinpoint yet. Either way you didn't want to think about it. You were just glad you resolved your differences before the gap between Ivan and you became a vast canyon.

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**A/N: **_**Awwww~**_** so you revolved your differences with Ivan. Good job! XD So now we see into your life a little more, and to explain your last name it's Romanowski with an indent '–' and then your actual last name, just to be complicated ;3 You usually don't use the name Romanowski, but the combined last names from both sides of your family can be used interchangeably if you want. Another last name my show up soon, but I'll explain the reason, or the story will explain, as time goes on… well that's pretty much it. I only had to explain that… SEE YOU LATER!**

_папа_ – Russian – _dad_

_дочь_ – Russian – _daughter _

_расцвет_ – Russian – _flowering, blossoming, bloom, blossom, flower_

_дедушка_ – Russian – _grandfather _

Gregory – Greek – watchful, vigilant

Nicholas – Greek – people of victory

_младший брат_ – Russian – _little brother_


	8. The Chilling Tequila

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Heh. Hey guys! Long time no see!? So I've been writing this story for a while, but haven't had time to review. So here it is. A new chapter. I hope you enjoy it and it was a lot of fun to write. Though I don't remember exactly what happens, but I hope you guys have fun! ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

You were sitting at your desk, your eyes concentrated on a small piece of jewelry and a small gem you had in your hand. The snow had been falling for quite some time and going outside was a chore, so you spent most of your time indoors as you waited for the snow to accumulate enough for skiing. Actually in Switzerland there would be snow before your family had any in the states. It was great to see the mountains and the trails and the vast scenery that the land provided, but you didn't want to go out on the trails until your skis came in the mail. You had brought everything from the hotel into Alfred's house and much more, the agency sending over your various bags that you had stored at their facility back in America. You didn't want to bring **everything** over, since the world meetings would end in a few more weeks and you would return to the states for the holidays, but with the bags you had you were able to have some of your various hobbies with you in the temporary house. You had a couple extra cases filled with weapons, not only guns but other various weapons you liked to use from time to time, and some boxes used for the hobbies you had. Your moods would fluctuate from time to time, from painting to drawing to writing and even embroidery. This time you were working on a piece of jewelry you wanted to finish before your little brother showed up, knowing that he will be in another day or two. You were glad you took that class on jewelry and metalwork in college, another hobby you can work on if you're bored and at home.

"Come on," you mumbled under your breath, using tweezers to delicately place the purple gem exactly where you wanted it. A smirk came to your face once it was properly placed, pressing the gems into the metal and looking at the large silver cross in your hand until your phone began to ring. Sighing you reached over and picked it up, noticing Alfred's caller ID flashing on the front. "Yes Alfred –" You pouted, looking at you watch and sighing. "Sorry, I lost track of time and I'll be there in a second. See you!" You quickly finished, clicking off your phone before he could go on a tangent.

You quickly put the jewelry you were working on into one of the top drawers of the desk, throwing your coat over your shoulders and slipping your boots onto your feet. You threw your gloves on your hands as you walked down the hallway and outside the door, shivering from the cold as you turned around and locked the door before making your way down the streets and into the city. You shoved your hands into your pockets and scrunched your neck, mumbling under your breath that you would have to find a scarf for your neck. You smiled once you noticed Alfred, who was walking right out of the building just as you were walking up the stairs. "Sorry that I was late, but I had to finish the –"

"That's alright!" Alfred laughed happily, "The meeting was longer than expected. Do we have anything for the rest of the day –"

"Not a thing –"

"Great!" he smirked. "Spain just got this gigantico canister full of tequila and invited us for a party. Want to go?!"

"Antonio?" you asked using the country's name, a smile coming to your face while you gave Alfred a nod, "Sure. Sounds great!"

"Good!" Alfred grinned, the two of you trudging through the snow as you made your way to Spain's house. "… Are you almost finished with that gift of yours –"

"Pretty much," you chuckled and gave Alfred a wink, "but I need to get a small silver thick chain and I'll finally be done."

"Can I see it –"

"Нет," you huffed, keeping your back to him as you walked quickly down the sidewalk.

"W-hat? –"

"No," you snorted at his question. "It's a family matter, not a business matter. So I'm not showing you –"

"Oh come on!" Alfred stomped his foot. You smirked. It may have only been a few months, but you already figured out what made him tick and not getting his way turned him into a child with a hissy fit. "Your brother is going to stay at our place so can't you tell me what you're giving him –"

"Say Alfred, do you have a basement level?" you decided to ask, trying to change the subject, "Because let's see… there's your room, my room, and a guest room on the upper level, as well as Tony's room in the attic. There's a downstairs with video arcades games and stuff, but there's that room that's locked down there. Is that another level or what –"

"Sort of," he shrugged, a sigh escaping his lips as he shook his head. "Well maybe I should tell you since you're working for me. Every country's house has something like that. It's like a torture chamber, but I call it an interrogation room. If you come across a spy and need to lock him up somewhere you can do so in there. You have the key, right?"

"I do," you smiled to him, understanding why you were given several other keys. "So that big, bulky silver one is to that door, huh?"

"Yep," he chuckled, "but please tell me if you have someone down there so I can know what's going on. It's a bulletproof room so if you have someone locked down there you won't be able to hear them throughout the rest of the house, 'kay?"

"Okay," you nodded; glad you had gotten one of your questions answered while you walked beside Alfred on the sidewalk.

"… Oh yeah!" Alfred suddenly exclaimed, "We'll be having a movie night too, so if you don't like scary movies I suggest you leave before then –"

"Hey," you huffed, "you made me watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 3D! That was some scary shit right there! So I think I can handle a _few~_ scary movies Alfred, though I'd rather you're clinging to someone else other then myself this time."

"_No promises~~_" he winked, skipping up the steps and ringing Antonio's doorbell.

You raised an eyebrow once the door was open, noticing that Julien was the one who opened the door. "Oh, if it isn't –"

"-insert-your-name-!" Gilbert laughed happily behind him, pushing the man aside as he grabbed you in a tight hug and forced Alfred and you into the house before slamming the door closed. "It's cold out there. You're letting all the heat out!" he snorted. "Anyways I didn't know you were showing up -insert-your-name-. Would you guys like a tequila or beer?"

"Beer, if you're offering," you agreed, your head snapping around to notice that Alfred had already found Arthur in the crowd of people. It was interesting to see the countries enjoying themselves; even Matthew was up and about laughing with Tino and Toris until Alfred showed up and shoved his brother off to the side. You shook your head, such sibling rivalry between the two of them.

In the kitchen Antonio and Ludwig were casually sharing a bottle of tequila, though a smirk came to your face when you saw Ludwig spitting the alcohol out of his mouth when Antonio's back was turned and replacing it with his mug of beer. "Hallo -insert-your-name-," Ludwig greeted with a smile, giving the man a nod until a chuckle escaped your lips when Veneziano popped out of nowhere and clung to the other country's arm.

"_Eeeeek~_, scary movie is starting! Germany, let's go!" Veneziano swung his arm, Ludwig sighing and shaking his head.

"Italy," Ludwig threatened, "I promised Gilbert I'll stay till ten –"

"You can go West if you don't want to stay," Gilbert smirked, handing you a large mug of beer and nudging his brother in the shoulder. "Besides I know what you and _little Italy~ _does. Just clean up next time."

"East!" Ludwig suddenly yelled, his face flushed in embarrassment while you giggled and looked down at your beer. Deciding there were other people you wanted to talk with you wandered away, looking around for Ivan and noticing he was nowhere to be found. Pouting you joined a conversation with Rachel and Eduard, a chuckle escaping your lips while you slowly drunk the beer Gilbert had given you.

! #$%^&*()

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The evening began with the movie Suspiria, an Italian film that Romano insisted on watching, followed by The Shining, something Alfred had brought with him, but then again you hadn't noticed the country had brought a movie with him. You sighed and sat between Rachel and Arthur, Arthur grumbling under his breath as Alfred clung to him and refused to let go. You were glad he wasn't clinging to you, but that certainly wasn't helping Arthur, was it? You weren't someone who liked seeing scary movies, but your older brother is so you were forced to watch the movie a few times back home. He had memorized everything by heart and by now you had too, so this movie didn't scare you as it should. "Oh here comes the good part," you said to no one and smirked deviously, popping the popcorn, since the bowl had ended up on your lap into your mouth, while Rachel pouted and glared at the movie.

"… I don't like where this is going –"

"Well this is the complete fight-and-flight freak out scene, just watch," you decided to say, Rachel scooting closer to you as you continued to casually eat the popcorn.

Everyone got quiet as the woman tried to shove her child through the window, Alfred letting out a shriek as an ax splinted through the door. "Oh god, man," one of the countries said, your mind wandering elsewhere while everyone else had their eyes on the screen.

Suddenly they heard the front door slam open and most of the people yelled bloody murder, a Francis walking in holding an ax and laughing his head off. "You should have seen the looks of your faces!" he laughed, a bunch of boos coming from the group while someone threw their empty bowl at his head. "Hey if you can't take a joke –" Francis stared at them confused, almost everyone's eyes staring in fright at the person behind him. "… Is something wrong? –"

"_**HERE'S JOHNNY~!**_" You jumped up and yelled, pointing to the dark loom standing behind Francis, causing Alfred to scream like a girl while you sat back and began to laugh hysterically.

"Привет," Ivan stared at everyone with a smile on his face, the group staring at him in horror as Francis realized who it was and jumped over the couch landing at your feet.

"Get away you frog!" Arthur snarled and kicked the Frenchman away, Rachel and you also kicking the man with your feet while he cried out and rolled around on the ground.

"… Did I miss zi party –"

"No you're here on time!" Antonio smiled, though you could tell he was nervous as he closed the front door and offered the tall man tequila. "Come sit down. We're watching The Shining right now. Oh Gilbert! Go back a chapter, will you? I think we all missed the last part there."

"Sure thing, tomato boy!" Gilbert laughed and gave Antonio a wink, pressing a few buttons on the remote in his hand as he went back to the pervious chapter on the DVD.

Ivan looked around until he spotted you, jumping over the couch that was between you and him, and he shoved Arthur aside and sat down next to you. "Привет -insert-your-name-," he smiled happily.

You smiled back; internally glad he had shown up to the party. "Y-yeah, hello too –"

"_Shhhoooooshhhh~!_" Alfred hissed, your eyes rolling while you shook your head and grumbled under your breath.

"Idiot," you snorted, low enough for only Rachel and Ivan to hear. Rachel couldn't help but snicker at your comment, nudging you in the arm before sitting back and popping the popcorn in her mouth. You grabbed the beer you had set aside and began to sip it, Ivan looking at the screen confused while you began to lean against him slightly and got his attention. "I didn't know you were showing up," you whispered to him, hoping no one heard except for perhaps Rachel.

"Да," he nodded, mumbling back so no one else heard him speaking to you, especially Alfred, "Spain invited **everyone** to vis house. I didn't see Natasha zo I snuck in. No one noticed me."

"I see," you pouted, "and I didn't get to talk to you before the movie started. Oh whatever… Can I be honest with you?"

"Да? –"

"I **hate** scary movies," you grumbled under your breath, gulping down the rest of your beer and setting the cup down on the coffee table in front of you, "but I have to watch scary movies with Alfred _all~_ the time. My older brother likes these sorts of movies too, but I never cared of them."

"Oh?" Ivan responded with a slight nod, "I never enjoyed these movies. Boring to me."

"Not boring, just scary," you grumbled, setting your head against his arm while he looked down at you confused. You began to nestle yourself against the taller man, the end of his scarf rubbing up against your head as you watched the movie.

You were rather bored with this movie since you've seen it before, but stayed quiet as the group had their screams of terror at least once. You could feel eyes staring down at you throughout the rest of the movie, but kept the thoughts to yourself as the credits began to roll and Gilbert pulled out the DVD and placed it back into its case. "Okay guys," Gilbert began, rummaging through the stacks of DVDs that were by his knee and looked at the titles, "what'll it be next –"

"How about The Ring?" Alfred suggested, Arthur groaning in disgust while his arm was pulled carelessly by the other country.

"Then let's watch Ringu," Kiku said, responding to Alfred's answer before he could say anything, "because it is the original –"

"Oh no!" You snorted and lifted your head to glare at Japan from across the room, "I had a few friends watch that once and they died 7 days later. Hell **no**."

"Ah shit!" Alfred cried out, shaking Arthur's arm uncontrollably.

"Then we should watch it," Gilbert snickered, grabbing DVD from the file while you pouted and glared at Alfred.

"You watched it a month ago Alfred," you snorted.

"_Oh yeah~~_" Alfred chuckled, sitting back and letting go of Arthur's arm.

"But he's a country," Rachel responded, once the DVD was put into place, "a-and it's getting dark, so maybe it's not a good idea to watch –"

"If you're staying then I will, but if not I'll leave," you said, though in your voice there was a tinge of hope that you could leave with an excuse.

"I can't until Matthew wants to go," Rachel pouted, sitting back and sighing, "but I guess we'll have to bear with it – -insert-your-name- are you okay? You look flushed."

"M-me?" you smiled weakly, pointing to yourself while you chuckled nervously. "I-I'm fine, honest. We'll just… watch the movie I guess –"

"Don't vurry подсолнух," Ivan grinned happily, a soft yelp escaping your lips as he wrapped an arm around you. "You'll be zave vith me." Rachel looked at you and gave you a nervous chuckle, but you looked back and gave her a shrug since his offer did sound pleasant. You heard Alfred say something to Ivan over Arthur's head, much to the bushy brow man's irritation, about you as Ivan gave a smug comment back, but you ignored them and kept your sights on the start of the movie. However, once it started your buried your head into his chest, putting your hands over your eyes when you refused to look at the movie. Ivan looked down at you with bright purple eyes, a content smile on his face as his hold on you became tighter while you nuzzled closer to his grasp.

You couldn't help but feel safe with the taller man, his odd warmth radiating onto you while his chest slowly rose against your head. His breathing was like a soft lullaby, something that you haven't felt in a long time. Yet you had to remember not to get too close to the Russian, but right now you weren't thinking about that as you heard the movie and Alfred already screaming before the movie got to the good parts. "O-ooh god," you mumbled under your breath, shuddering as you gripped his clothes.

You wondered if the curse will work if you were only hearing the movie and not seeing it, but sudden sounds even made you yelp while you felt the floor crackle with Alfred jumping to his feet and tackling Arthur in a tight hug. "Iggy save me!" Alfred cried, "We're going to die! –"

"Get off of me, you bloody git!" Arthur snarled, pushing into Ivan while he looked at them with a slight glare before going back to gently rubbing your back.

If it hadn't been for the constant yelling from Alfred you would have went to sleep, but once Rachel let out a shriek you knew something was wrong. "What?!" you exclaimed, pulling out your handgun from your side and aiming it at the tv. You yelped, seeing the creature on the ground crawling closer to the screen and turned your head before cuddling back into Ivan's protective arms. "Oh shit, I saw!" you cried, yelping as the gun landed on the ground beside you and everyone went quiet.

A shriek was heard throughout the group, but you didn't hear a thing from Ivan while he gently rubbed your back. There was more screaming till you felt the man's hand leave your back, a few people laughing lightly once the movie began to show the credits. "Подсолнух, it's over," Ivan mumbled, you head lifting up to stare at the screen.

A large breath escaped your lips and you chuckled, looking up at Ivan as he looked down at you with his light smile. "Was it scary –"

"Нет," he shook his head, "Vot scary. As I zay, I don't care vor scary movies."

"O-okay…" you nodded, giving him a wink before setting your head back down on his chest and making no intentions of leaving his grasp. "I don't mind if everyone else will, but I draw the line at movies that have implications of you dying or something like that."

"Да," Ivan answered back, though you wondered what he was thinking as his hand went back to your back and he placed it on your shoulder. The two of you stayed like that till Rachel insisted on talking to you, your head lifting up to answer her until Antonio decided for the group that the movie they would watch next was The Devil's Backbone.

)(*&^%$# !

"W-woh that was creepy," Gilbert shuddered, Antonio grinning like a madman and changing the DVDs again. You let out a yawn, staring down at your watch to see that it was almost midnight.

"Okay, what's next –"

"Let's vatch the Night Watch," Ivan suggested, getting a few strange looks while you lifted your head and scratched your eyes.

"Night Watch?" you mumbled, "What's that –"

"A 2004 zupernatural thriller film zet in present-day Москва, vere the rezpective forces vat control daytime and nighttime do battle. Loosely based on te novel The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko," Ivan explained with a grin on his face. "Ve should vach, да?"

A few of the countries shied away from the man once he began to radiate an odd purple aura while Ivan grinned happily as he always had, but you were more interested in the movie and how he could know all that without actually reading the information from the DVD. He must have brought it, you decided to think, looking over at Gilbert while he quickly looked for the DVD and threw the box to Antonio to put into the DVD player. "Actually this doesn't sound that bad," Gilbert snickered, a yawn being heard from one of the countries.

"Italy, do you want to go home –"

"Si," you heard the country answer, looking over at Rachel who had passed out while watching the previous movie.

"Hey Rachel," you snorted, pushing her side with your foot and instantly waking her up, "if you're tired you can go to sleep. I don't think you want to wake up in a room with Francis walking around."

"Neh, I'll stay," she decided to respond, a weak smile on her face as she continued, "but maybe you should. Aren't you going to wake up early tomorrow? –"

"I'll wake up when my brother calls," you shrugged, sitting back against the couch and looking at the screen while they waited for the start of the movie. "It may be Friday, but Alfred has no meetings and will probably annoy Arthur all day," you confessed. "I don't know if they'll fly in tomorrow or later, but he will call when they get to London so I can make the two hour drive to the airport."

"Ça va," Rachel nodded in understanding, a smile on your face while she gave you a smirk. "I think he'll enjoy meeting Alfred."

"Oh I think he will too," you chuckled, the movie starting and your mind moving to the screen until Ivan nudged your shoulder. Rachel wondered what was going on between Ivan and you, which she hope wasn't anything bad, but since you didn't fight against his advances she decided to not bring up the topic till later. You noticed the excited glint in Ivan's eyes and smirked, setting your head down on his chest again as the movie started. You let out a startled yelp when one of the creatures suddenly revealed themselves, a light giggle escaping Ivan's lips when you noticed that he was staring at Alfred. The poor boy couldn't stop screaming, you shook your head, even when the movie wasn't as scary as you would have thought.

Ivan didn't say a word until the movie was completely over, your eyes looking over at Rachel and noticing that she and many other people in the group had fallen asleep. It wasn't until Gilbert laughed and slammed his hand into the wall multiple times that a few people woke up. "Vu 'ike?" Ivan decided to ask, a smile on your face while you stretched and let out a yawn.

"Actually yeah," you confessed with a tired smile, "it was a good movie. Not as scary as I thought and an interesting story."

A yawn escaped your lips, but you tried to hide it with your hand. A slight pout showed up on Ivan's face, knowing you must be tired. "Do you vant to eve –"

"No," you snorted and shook your head, "n-no I'm enjoying this… Why? Are you?"

"Нет," Ivan shook his head before giving you a grin, "I vant to zay vith you till ve have to leave."

"O-oh okay," you nodded, noticing the group had decided on the next movie, which was a Swedish film called Frostbitten.

"… You va relative coming –"

"Yeah," you tried to tell him. "Not exactly like I want anyone knowing where I am, but my Бабушка is trying to make a point that it doesn't matter where I am, she'll find me." A grumble escaped your lips when you finished, but noticing the neutral look on Ivan's face you gave him a slight smile and nuzzled back into his chest. "You don't have to be concerned. I'm actually excited. Just… don't imply anything to брат if you meet him. He comes to conclusions too quickly," you shrugged and Ivan gave you a nod, but didn't say anything after that. You didn't know when you fell asleep, but the soft muffled beating of the heart in Ivan's chest caused you to fall asleep, your body subconsciously letting the man pull you tighter while the movies continued until even Gilbert and Antonio passed out.

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**A/N: Wow! Not too bad! And a lot of fun ;D So now everything is good with Ivan and you, right? Perhaps, we'll just see. And I'll try to post another chapter sooner this time. I just got preoccupied. SEE YOU LATER!**

_подсолнух_ – Russian – _sunflower _

_Ça va_ – French – _okay_


	9. The Quiet Conversions

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Meh. I had some time i****n school so I decided to review another chapter. I hope you like it! Some RussiaXReader stuff going on in this one ;3 Though at times I think it gets fluffy… but whatever. And maybe ooc, but this is set in a different time setting, in my mind, and it's in the future… not distant future, but not like it was set two days ago or something. Possibly, but unlikely. Well I'll just stopping there. ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

By the time you regained consciousness you were lying on the carpeted floor where you had been sitting on. Your phone was vibrating in your pocket and you decided to answer it, feeling a terrible hangover overwhelming your senses while you answered the phone without looking at the caller ID. "Y-yes? –" Your eyes widened, your body practically lifting right off of the floor as a grin showed up on your face. "You're in London now?... If you don't want to sleep I'll let you sleep in the car," you chuckled lightly, "and… uh huh… huh?... I don't know him either. Don't worry. I'll interrogate him –… No I won't do that! Look Greg, if you don't trust him then I'll take care of him. I doubt I would either… it doesn't matter what бабушка says about him, it's what **I** say… okay I'll see you there – Yes I was drinking. Thanks for waking me up." You grumbled under your breath while you closed your phone, a sigh escaping your lips as you slowly got off of the ground and sat down on the couch. You raised an eyebrow, noticing that the Ivan you had fallen asleep on was replaced with a pillow and a blanket wrapped around your body. How that got there you didn't know, but noticing a note left by the pillow you grabbed it and read the message written in Russian:

'_Meet me at Starbucks'_

Starbucks? Should you? Deciding it was time to leave you left the house, slamming the door behind you and snickering when you heard a few people groaning in pain at the sound. It didn't take you long to get to Alfred's house, now your house you guessed but you weren't one to call a place home except for one. Making sure the door was locked you rushed up the stairs to your room. Since it was cold outside you replaced your work clothes with something much warmer, extra warm pants inside of black dress pants with a nice sweater. You put on a large black coat that reached down to your knees, using a black belt to tie around your waist. You also put on a large scarf, wrapping it around your neck and letting the ends fall to your side while you slipped on black gloves. You hummed, grabbing one of your black cases and grabbing the guns inside. You never really knew when you'd need them, so you were always prepared. Plus you can't go through the airport and will have to wait outside so it won't matter if you're holding weapons or not. Lastly you grabbed your small black bag and placed it around your body, grabbing your briefcase and closing the door behind you.

You started a cup of coffee and quickly slurped down the warm liquid, hoping it will be enough to get the horrible hangover out of your mind. Just then the door opened, Alfred groaning while he held his head and walked into the house. "Oh god," he grumbled, gently closing the door and walking down the hallway till he made it to the couch.

"… Hey," you said, the man hissing in pain as he turned and tried to relieve his head with his fingertips, "I'm going to go pick up Gregory. Will you be okay while I'm gone?"

"Y-yeah," Alfred groaned, a smirk on your face as you walked over to the couch and handed him a cup of coffee. "I-I'll probably just sleep."

"Why did you come here –"

"T-his person slammed the door and woke everyone up. Now everyone is yelling and I just had to go," Alfred snorted.

"Oh," you snickered, grabbing a set of keys by the door while your heavy boots clicked against the ground. "Well I'll take the Mercedes and hopefully be back by this afternoon. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay… fine," he grumbled, your eyes rolling as you opened the door and closed it behind you. It didn't take you long to open the garage and start up the car, throwing your briefcase and setting a handgun into the glove compartment before pulling out of the driveway and driving down the road.

Since Ivan was probably expecting you at the Starbucks you parked on the side of the street, stepping out of the car and hustling over to the building. You didn't know how long the drive may become and you never liked to be late, so if this could end quickly you would be able to get on the road before your brother's flight crosses into France. Your eyes quickly caught sight of the Russian, sitting with his shoulders hunched while he slowly drank a cup of coffee in his gloves. "Hey Ivan. I got your letter," you smiled, his eyes lighting up when he noticed you walking around the table and sitting down with a sigh, "but I can't stay long –"

"It's alvight," he grinned happily, "I vanted to talk to you."

"Y-yeah okay," you nodded, putting your elbows on the table and staring at him with curiosity, "what would you like to talk about?"

"… I know ve cannot talk, but I vanted to no vy," Ivan decided to say, sitting back and holding his coffee in his hands. "Tell me, vhy do ou need to keep on the Aмериканцы good zide?"

"I… I don't know what to say," you sighed, scratching your head while you unwrapped your scarf and set it down on the table. "I don't want to put you into danger –"

"Danger?" Ivan asked, noticing a pout on your face as you continued.

"Yes, danger. Every single day of my short life I've been in danger for one reason or another. I… I don't want to give too much about myself, even to you. If I do you may end up dead," you told him roughly, your eyes becoming dull with every word you spoke. "I don't know how you countries work, but if you get close to me you die. Simple as that –"

"I don't care," he huffed in Russian, his voice growing much more deadly while yours grew monotone. "… I vill protect you подсолнух, да. Vy you say you vill die?"

You chuckled lightly at his nickname for you, a tried sigh escaping your lips while you pressed a finger on the table and began to make squiggles with the leftover powered sugar left on the wooden surface. "… Because of my family," you began, a frown on your face while you continued, "I love them all to pieces, but we have problems, a lot of problems. We're always on the run, always hiding. We either hide or stand up, and standing up gets us killed. Ivan, I lost a lot of people I cared greatly about because they knew too much. Don't let that happen to you –"

"Ve countries don't die like vu do," he answered, your head looking over at him at how dark and annoyed he seemed to sound. "Unlezz our country zis conquered by another ve stay alive for centuries. I have been alive for a thousand or two yearz –"

"Are you serious?!" you gasped astonished, his eyes lightening at your interest.

"Да… a vew more centuries and I'll be a vew thousand years old." Ivan paused, waiting for you to say something, but you just stared at him waiting for more of an explanation to his comment. "Za point being iz even if I get shot I vill live. It not matter vat happens to me, I'll still continue to live even if I'm zot through the chest… хорошо?"

You stared at him cautiously, unsure if you should believe him and wondering if his words are true. "… I don't know about that, but I see you as Ivan, not as this Russia." You gave him a smile, his features softening at the mention of his human name. "You're my friend Ivan and I don't want to see you get hurt. Look, the reason why I need to keep the government away is for many reasons. Family mainly, but some shit I did also. So please, I know this must be hard, but trust me when I say that I'm withholding information because I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I don't vant to zee you hurt either –"

"Then good. Then we're on the same page," you smiled, standing up and deciding you'd get yourself some more coffee before leaving. "Now I have to go, but hey if you have nothing else to do would you like to come along?"

His eyes lit up at the mention of him going with you, a grin on your face while you grabbed your scarf from the table and tied it around your neck. "Да, I vant to go –"

"Good," you smiled, "because a two hour ride alone can get lonely. Let me just buy a coffee and we can go, okay?"

"Да," Ivan nodded, watching as you walked over to the counter and ordered your drink. You looked back at him and noticed the smile on his face, your head quickly whipping around while you tried to hold back a tint of red in your cheeks and hoped the man didn't see you looking at him.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

The ride to the airport was very quiet, but you didn't mind the trip. You glanced over at Ivan every once in a while, noticing he was staring at you till you began to drive through the vast countryside. Then his eyes were looking out the window, a smile on your face once the feeling of being watched left your side. It wasn't like you haven't had that feeling before, after all you always had people watching over you when you were a child upon your parents' requests, but for once you weren't afraid. It was odd to say you weren't afraid of being noticed and stalked all the time, but Ivan was different. You actually felt like you could trust him, but if that was true or not you didn't know. He represented Russia after all and you've been told time and time again to stay away from the Russians and Alfred continues to tell you to stay away from Russia… speaking of Russians, you realized, you never really found out who this Russian family is. Your father said you had met them once, but that was once. You were always curious to know who they were and why you were told to stay away from them, but mainly because you didn't want your American family to get hurt you did. You stayed away to the best of your abilities. Still, you had a feeling that those people were slowly infiltrating your family. You just hoped your older brother hasn't been brainwashed into following them… whoever they are.

You glanced over at Ivan, wondering if you should say something, but then your phone began to vibrate and you answered it through the speaker phone:

"Yes? –"

"_Hey sis!" _The phone answered, the voice of a young boy giggling on the other line before a yawn escaped his lips, _"Y-yeah the plane got delayed so we'll be an hour late."_

"Is that so –"

"_Filipp is still scary,"_ the voice on the other line continued in a soft whisper, _"and I think he wants to hurt me or maybe you –"_

"Then why the hell did бабушка let that man watch you –"

"_Y-you don't know what's been going on at home," _the voice mumbled, pausing for a few moments before continuing, _"but now мама is talking to other people too, in Russian. I-I think those weenies have found our family and I don't like it, старшая сестра… A lot of strange things are happening."_

You pouted and looked over at Ivan, who was listening to your conversation, and you let a tired sigh escape your lips as you answered the boy. "Well… if that man isn't with you right now do you want to talk about it over the phone?"

"_You know the phone isn't the safest way to discuss this –"_

"Then what do you want me to do about him –"

"_Interrogate him. You're good at that, even бабушка says so!" _You smirked, hearing another giggle from the boy until he continued. _"… I heard about Alex. I didn't want to say anything because мама would yell, but how did he die?"_

You paused, your face growing grim while you answered the question. "… A fire… and a gunshot. Pushed me out of the way before I was smashed… and it wasn't an accident."

"_W-was it a family thing or other business –"_

"The agency, but we were infiltrating a gathering of the underground and were got caught spying. I think someone knew we were there… but I don't want to talk about that further," you mumbled, glancing over at Ivan before staring down at the phone you had set on top of your dashboard.

"… _Well weren't you going to marry him or something –"_

"No," you snorted, "not exactly. That's just what бабушка thought. You guys **really** jump to conclusions too quickly –"

"_I know!"_ he giggled, _"But I thought I'd ask… бабушка has been looking you know."_

"Excuse me –"

"_Well~ the gossip is that you were going to marry Alex like Maria had done before she got killed… but even I know that's too soon. So what will you do –"_

"You know Gregory I have no idea," you huffed. "Do we really have to talk about that right now? And besides I don't want someone to die for my sake anymore. Maria's fiancé died with папа too. He got caught in the crossfire like everyone else. It's better to stay out of those lovely dovey things. That's how I see the world now."

"… _That's not a good way to see things –"_

"Well what can we do Greg? Everyone will end up dead if we let people get close to us –"

"_EH?! You're such a downer!"_ the boy snorted on the other line. _"… I just want you to be happy sis –"_

"But I'd rather give all that up to see that Nick and you are safe," you huffed back, a sigh escaping your lips while you scratched the back of your head and grumbled under your breath. "Do we have to talk about this? Over the phone? That government of ours is going to ask me how I know about their deaths now –"

"_Well isn't it just a dream?"_ the boy answered over the phone, _"but b-because of our family and that –"_

"I know what that entails and I know the consequences," you snorted.

"_Speaking of __**that**__,"_ he giggled happily, _"бабушка found another spell that she wants us to try –"_

"For the love of god брат, if it's another spell book I'm going to burn it and throw it out the window. Seriously we've been trying for generations. This spell and witchcraft business has to stop." You grumbled under your breath, barely taking notice that Ivan was in the car anymore while you gripped the wheel tighter and caused your knuckles under your gloves to slowly turn white. "I don't see what дедушка saw in her if she's just some sorceress or whatever."

"… _P-probably because he got scared, like I am,"_ the voice got quiet on the phone, a pout forming on your face while your little brother continued. _"I don't want to see Nick or you die. I don't! Just… c-an't you stop the curse?"_

"… No," you huffed, "it's not possible." You stared straight ahead, your eyes starting to grow dull as you began to recall your past. "… It's better to just accept nothing will work instead of hoping for a miracle."

"_But –"_

"How do you think Alex died anyways?" you snorted. "How do you think папа and старшая сестра died? Even дедушка? They weren't coincidences… and I know you also feel that it all happened on purpose. But I want to promise you this."

"_What сестра –"_

"No matter what you can't stop fighting," you said with a strong voice that caused Ivan's eyes to widen just slightly at the familiar tone. "I have done all this to keep you safe. I don't know about большой брат anymore, but I let myself be this guinea pig so **you** don't have to Greg. Enjoy your childhood in America. It won't last long… and I don't know what Nick is doing exactly, but whatever it is he's caused a lot of people to aim their guns at me."

"… _I'm sorry –"_

"Why should you be sorry?" you smirked, a chuckle escaping your lips once your tough demeanor passed. "You haven't done anything, yet. Keep yourself off of everyone's radar and you won't have to."

"_B-but I want to –"_

"You have no reason to," you snorted. "Make a life, something normal. Don't get yourself involved in this family affair business. That's why our family moved to America, да?"

"… _Да,"_ the boy giggled. _"I guess you're right -insert-your-name-. You're always right about stuff like this."_

"That's right, so listen to your сестра when I talk to you," you smirked slyly. "Now when you fly in call me. We'll probably park and eat inside of the airport unless you arrive before we get there, okay?"

"_Okay,"_ the voice answered, the call ending and you let out a sigh while slipping the phone back into your pocket. You gave Ivan a threatening glance, wondering if he'd say anything, but he had his head turned out the window so you decided that he either didn't have anything to say or wasn't paying attention.

)(*&^%$# !

Ivan and you were sitting in a small restaurant in the airport, slowly eating from a Panda Express while the two of you eyed each other from time to time. Ivan didn't know what to say, were you mad that he overhead your conversation? Should he keep quiet about the matter? –

"Something's bugging you Ivan," you decided to say with a snort, stuffing some rice in your mouth before continuing. "Is it about the phone call? Do you want an explanation and think I won't tell you?"

"… Vo's Alex?" Ivan asked, your eyebrow raising and wondering if the man was jealous.

"Oh," you chuckled, "you want to know about Alex… His full name was Alexander Smirnov, but his family changed his last name to Smith so they would be like any other family and the Americans wouldn't get his name wrong… He was the first Russian, other than my family, that I had ever met that weren't looking down their noses at me or hired to watch me. I don't know." You gave him a thin smile before staring down at your food and you began to pick at your plate. You didn't know why you were nervous about speaking about this with Ivan, but then again you never really got over the incident. "… I was going through a bad time. My father just died and my sister too. I think you figured that out when I was talking with Gregory," you shrugged, keeping your eyes down on your plate, but making no motions to eat your food anymore. "Alex… I… Well I had run away. I finished high school, but that summer, two days later after the graduation, I ran away. I joined the army as an average soldier and, well, I felt so alone. I wanted to get away from my family; I didn't want to deal with their problems… but the longer I went to serve the sooner I realized that it wasn't the right thing to do, running away. Sadly it was too late, I couldn't get back home, and when I did finally return to the states I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to return home.

"Ummmm… I don't know why I'm telling you this," you confessed with a slight chuckle, "but this agency hired me the last year of my term… or something like that. I forget. Anyways they must have written files on me or something because the next thing I knew they placed me in basic training. That's where I met Alex. We were paired up sometimes and they called us the Red Team… a bit racist, I'll give you that, but we were the only ones that confessed we had Russian families so everyone assumed we were socialists. So I don't know. Whatever." You sipped your drink and stared at Ivan weakly, a sigh escaping your face while you sat back in your seat. "We ended up becoming good friends. I thought I had found someone who I could tell everything to. I even went into detail about my family's past and he didn't care. He was just worried about me most of the time. Of course, after staying with the agency, I realized why they had me join. It was that past they were curious about and was, essentially, experimenting on me. They still do and those bloody Americans continue to keep tabs on me. That's why I don't want everyone else knowing about our little talks because it'll eventually get back to that government." You tried to smile, but you couldn't, so you hung your head in defeat and looked at the floor. "I… I said too much about that. Alex was a good kid and I shouldn't have led him on. We… we actually did make plans to elope, but we kept everything secret. If the agency found out they would separate us and we wouldn't be able to see each other again. Plus my family tends to pry. They would have found out before them for sure. Plus Alex… I don't know. Maybe I trusted him too much or he really didn't want any harm to befall me, so I think it's always the latter.

"We were close to a retirement, or at least getting out of the government's grasp for a while. He had his problems and I had my own, but we didn't care about that. He had me meet his family on one of our breaks. They were nice. The family didn't know Russian anymore, but we shared some recipe swapping and they told me about Old Russian folk stories. They were a nice family and I didn't want to bring Alex into my world, but he insisted and… well what happened next I should have expected." You smiled slightly, thinking of the past, but your face quickly turned sour and you glanced into Ivan's eyes with a cold stare. "There are reasons why I don't talk about my family Ivan. Not even Alfred knows everything and I want to keep it that way. Alex knew too much. He visited my family and he asked too many questions. That shouldn't have been a problem, but then my бабушка asked if we were going to marry. We instantly said no, of course not! But… she was being insisting and said that if he marries he will join the family business. I didn't like where that was going and I had Alex leave the room, but I knew that I had to stay away from the man about that. It was either him or my family… and I still don't know who I would have chosen."

You looked up at Ivan, expecting him to say something, but he continued to give you an unnerving stare. You wanted him to say something, anything! But nothing was coming out, so you continued. "That same year Alex and I were paired for a mission and he was in command of the group. I was shooting at our targets, but the mission was jeopardized. I hadn't known there was a sniper on the building behind me and no one noticed until they shot at me. They got me in the shoulder," you poked your side, a pout on your face while you tried to explain, "and Alex was stupid. He jumped in front of my way and got shot in the chest. Died two days later in the hospital. I went after the gunman and he wasn't even there because of our mission… it was my fault. He was trying to kill me, not everyone else." You put your head in your hands, letting out a frustrated sigh while you ran a hand through your hair. "… I didn't tell anyone about that… why I was the only one who was shot at. Alex was going to propose to me again after that mission actually and gave me the ring. They found it in his pocket during the autopsy… I didn't feel right about keeping it so I left it with his parents with a note… After that… well if I wasn't cold before I became colder now." You looked up at him, giving him a slight glare as you continued. "I will be honest; I'm not the nicest person in the world. The only reason why I'm being kind to anyone here is because that's part of my mission, but… I don't know Ivan. When you ran into me in the hallway and everyone seems too nice here… I don't know what to think anymore. Was I right to turn so cold?... Is there anything else you'd like to know?" You decided to ask, Ivan giving you a glance before sitting back and drinking the drink in his hand.

"Vhy tell me if you don't trust me?" Ivan decided to ask, your head looking up and staring at him confused.

"Trust? I never said I didn't trust you," you frowned, noticing the confused look on his face. Then a smile came upon your lips and you chuckled lightly. "I-I don't know. I just needed someone to talk to at first, but you seem like me, you know? Cold, you keep things to yourself, and I don't know. The others keep away from you for some reason. I-I don't see the reason so I don't."

"You don't?" Ivan stared at you and you had to surpass a chuckle, reminding you of when Gregory asked you questions like this.

"No," you chuckled, a grin growing on your face while you continued, "I do not. Look, maybe you've done some stuff in the past, but right now isn't the country of Russia trying to regain their wealth after the last war? Plus it's been a while since then… A person can change, right?"

Ivan blinked, leaning back on the table and staring you down. "… Vat I'm a country -insert-your-name-. I do as my bosses tell me to do. Voever zis in control I obey, zo if they ask me about you I vill tell them the truth."

You frowned, sitting back in your chair as you stared at him with a pout. "… You may be a country, but I've noticed something about you guys. You have your own hearts, your own feelings about everything. Alfred didn't want his revolution, but he had to leave Arthur. Arthur doesn't like fighting with the other countries all the time, but it's necessary to keep his country safe. Francis isn't a complete pervert, but after Jeanne he's colder than before. You've all seen scars, seen wars and plagues pass through your countries, and I'm guessing, if what Arthur says is true, that you can feel every single pain a person in your country feels. If the majority of your country dislikes a ruler and refuses to follow him, do you follow what they say or what your inner self tells you? The one that's called Ivan, not Russia." You paused, a smirk on your face while you sat back. "I'm only asking. I don't know that answer –"

"Za Mongols ver beasts," Ivan began to say, his eyes staring down at his hands while he began to twiddle his fingers, "and vis terror and pain iz all I know. The other countries… don't zike me because… I don't know vy. They say I cold and monster. I don't speak a lot; only follow orders of boss. But after Vorld Var one ve suffered great losses. Everyone vas angry and I felt it too… I heard the plans of the revolution, the assassination, but didn't tell my boss. I didn't vant to. I chose not to because everyone else didn't vant the word to get out." He glared at you darkly, but he was slightly confused that you kept your posture and continued to stare back at him with an interest in his story. "… Even the children ver killed and I pulled trigger. I… didn't vant to see them die, they like family. I know, I shouldn't get close to the people. They wither and die soon then I. I za a spark of light, but that glimmer vas lost after that day… Vhy am I telling you this?"

You smirked and sat back in your chair, arms crossed over your chest. "I don't know Ivan. Why do **you** think you can talk to me about this?"

Ivan couldn't help but smirk, a smirk that wasn't evil or impure but genuine that made your heart skip a sudden beat, "Because… vu sound zike Nikolay before he died… You had odd sense of authority that I vant to obey."

You chuckled, his smile starting to wane as you did. "I get that a lot," you grinned, his smile increasing at your comment. "Ummm… I don't know when I can ask you this and I know this is a touchy subject, but the czar, this royal family… how were they? How did they live?"

"… Vhy do you ask? –"

"I shared something with you and I hoped you'd do the same," you shrugged. "Plus hey, my family is always talking about them. I want to hear from someone who lived with them how the family was, and everyone should have their share of memories, да?"

"Да?" Ivan looked at you confused, but continued to speak anyways. "Tsar alvays had problems and tried to solve them. It rough times… Tsaritsa alvays tried to comfort him, but didn't always work. Tsar kept problems away from his children. They knew as they grew older, but little Anastasia and Alexei didn't know vat was going on… The country vas in turmoil, yet Tsar alvays tried to make some time to spend vith his children. He didn't like the problems that his reign started, but he said that family vas everything to him. He hoped for Alexei to grow up to be better successor then him, but that never actually came.

"The children ver very cheerful, especially little Anastasia. She vas a vild little child vhu loved to cause mischief. I remember this one time," Ivan chuckled lightly, "that I hide her under my cloak during one of her scheduled massages. After that point, if she found me, she would ask to hide under my cloak if her siblings were playing hide-and-seek or she got into trouble. Of course I refused sometimes if it was for punishment, but the other times it vas for fun." You looked at him with a sympathetic look, knowing his story didn't have a happy ending. "I alvays accompanied the family ven they traveled. Little Nastya vas za cheeriest and had some of the guardz participate in their games. She vod alvays invite me, even ven her sister Olga said it vhas improper, but then again I hadn't met a child like Nastya. She vas very kind to me and I vasn't used to it. Yet, after that Rasputin began to show his face around zi complex, I began to get very protective of the children. He vas a simpleton, an evil man. Maybe it vas because of the other cries of the people, but I kept vatch over zi children if he made any attempts of sneaking into their rooms. He didn't try anything vile I was around, but little Anastasia could tell I vas nervous about the man and tried to reassure me he vas not threat, along with zi Tsaritsa. It didn't matter vhat she felt, I vould stand guard and protect them from any harm. Rasputin didn't like me and I him… but Tsaritsa told me not to worry so I didn't kill him, myzelf. Others did, but I perzonally never gave him harm.

"Yet after zat man Tsar continue make mistake after mistake. I couldn't keep myzelf calm at times. The inner turmoil of people rang in the chest. Zo I… I stayed, but my mind vod wander. Malenkaya vas the only one vho asked me about my tension. Zike you I vas oddly honest… and I still don't know vhy," he explained, staring at you with caution before continuing. "Maybe it vas the vay she spoke to me. I don't know why, but the country becoming chaos, especially during var. Aftervard… vhell… I got a new boss. He made me stand in the same room vith the family as they ver shot. I saw one twitch, but didn't say anything vhile the bodies vere moved and buried. Zo… you asked."

"How cruel," you frowned, "to see them die like that."

"Yurovsky vanted to make a point," Ivan shrugged, "that the monarchy vas dead and country under new rule. I accepted that –"

"Yes," you frowned, "but that couldn't have been easy." Ivan stared at you confused, a sigh escaping your lips while you shook your head. "After all you saw people you cared about die in a tragic and profound way. Every death hurts, but to see it so vividly… how do you get over something like that?"

"… I never have," Ivan answered. "Never have and may never do so –"

"Oh," you pouted, sitting back in your chair looking rather distort.

He eyed you suspiciously, wondering why you were acting this way. "… Vhy you upset, подсолнух? Did I upzet you –"

"No," you shook your head, glancing at him with glossing eyes, "I just…" You sighed, scratching the back of your head as you continued, "I… I just… wondered how someone else felt if they had to see those things. That's all –"

You paused, your phone beginning to ring and this caused Ivan to quickly sit back and let out a held in breath he didn't even know he was holding. "-insert-your-name- speaking – Oh great!" You smirked, looking at Ivan with a smile before looking around for someone familiar. "We're by the Panda Express, but we'll be down in a few minutes – Yes I'm with someone… Who?... Ummm… You can talk to him when you meet him, alright – No it's not like that!" You huffed disgusted, "Why do you people always jump to that conclusion? I'm not like Maria, okay? I-I have other things on my plate right now –… Yeah we can talk about that later. See you soon. Loves and kisses." You closed your phone and stared over at Ivan, who had gotten up and thrown away his food. "… A-are you okay –"

"I'm vine," Ivan answered with a shrug, turning to walk away while you grabbed your food and threw the leftovers away.

You quickly chased after him; grabbing his arm and making him turn to stare down at your worried eyes. Ivan blinked at you in confusion, your eyes staring at him just as baffled at his sudden emotion. "Seriously, if something is wrong… I don't want that to break our relationship Ivan. It doesn't have to get closer then friends, in fact I'd rather it stayed like that, but if something is on your mind –"

"There zis," he said roughly, his voice becoming quieter while he tried to contemplate what he'd say. "… Vu remind me too much of Anastasiya and I don't zike it," he pouted. You smirked, letting go of his arm and putting your hands behind you back as you chuckled and began to walk away. "Vat's so funny –"

"Nothing's funny," you snickered. "Just I wasn't excepting you to refer me to past people like that, especially rulers. I know my place, I'm not supposed to rule, so it's just intriguing that you'd say those things." Ivan stared at you puzzled while you continued down the hallway, twisting your body and staring back at him. "Are you coming?"

"Д-да," Ivan answered with a nod, continuing to stare at you confused while you simply smirked and continued down the hallway.

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: And… that's it for now! and yes, if there's parts that Ivan said that weren't changed to have an accent it was on purpose. I didn't simply miss the sentence ;3 Anyways I hope you enjoyed this. Maybe not superbly fluffy, but it had its moments. The next chapter we get further into your story and background so be prepared, and actually if you have OC(s) you'd like to see in the story I wouldn't mind having a few. It's hard coming up with names all the time ^^'. Just make sure they are related somehow with the story… and yeah that's it. SEE YOU LATER!**

_Aмериканцы_ – Russian – _Americans_

Filipp – Cyrillic – friend of horses

_мама_ – Russian – _mum_

Maria – Latin – star of the sea

Smirnov – Russian – Quiet Man's


	10. The Breached Secrets

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Hey guys! Another chapter to post and I introduce a few more OCs ;3 I also got two reviews that didn't have an account, so I'll answer those reviews at the end of this chapter… Okay? Cool! Heh, I'm in such a good mood today. I hope it lasts ^^' Well ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

"Gregory!" you laughed happily, a small little boy laughing back as you opened your arms and engulfed him in a tight hug.

"-insert-your-name-!" he cried back, gripping you just as tightly as you were him until he looked up and came into contact with dark amethyst eyes. "… Сестра?"

"Yeah?" you answered, but you kept your grip on the boy while he tried to squirm away and point up to the man looming behind you.

"W-who's that?" Gregory asked, your grip on the boy loosening while you gently rubbed his arms and gave him a smile. "Is that the Alfred guy you were talking about –"

"No. His name is Ivan Braginski and I know him from work," you told him, letting the boy go while Gregory rushed over to the much taller man and stared up at him in awe.

"You Ivan?" Gregory asked, poking the man in the knee till he answered in a monotone voice.

"Да, I am –"

"Cool! You're Russian like me!" the boy giggled, grabbing his glove and pulling on Ivan so he could see his face better. "Do you come from America or –"

"Ivan lives and works in Russia," you explained, making your way over over to them with a smirk on your lips.

"C-can we trust him –"

"I feel like I can so it's up to you," you shrugged, Ivan giving you a confused look while Gregory smirked and continued to pull on the man's hand. "… Where's this Filipp guy you were worrying about –"

"I ran away before he could grab me," Gregory quickly explained, watching you nervously while you stood with your back to them, looking around wondering if there was a man making his way over to you, "a-and I left him to get the bags. I told him I would find you -insert-your-name-."

"Maybe we should **ditch** him if he doesn't show up in a few more minutes," you turned and gave Gregory a wink, walking over to them and looking up at Ivan. "Ivan," you began in a quieter tone, but it still held the same authoritative voice as the one you were using with your little brother, "I'm sorry if today has been boring for you –"

"Нет, not boring," Ivan told you, pausing for a second before continuing, "in vact I enjoy today."

Your mouth practically dropped, staring at him stunned by his response. "R-really?" You chuckled lightly and scratched the back of your head, "W-ell okay then –"

"-insert-your-name-," Gregory decided to interrupt by pulling on the end of your coat, "will you be flying home for Christmas?"

"Ummm… I actually don't know," you shrugged, "because I don't know Mr. Jones' schedule after Thanksgiving. I may have to accompany him to more meetings. I don't know."

"Oh… okay cool," the boy grinned happily, giving your arm a squeeze as he clung to your side, "because I wanted you to meet my friends."

"Friends you say?" you respond with a smirk, "And who are these friends –"

"T-there's only a few, maybe only two, but they're my best friends in the whole world! Though, I don't know if they'll stay for high school so it may be the only time to see them."

"Ah," you nodded, "Well we'll see. In the meantime let's just worry about driving back to the city, okay? Would you like to sleep in the back –"

"Yes please," Gregory answered, snuggling up against you side while you looked over to Ivan with a smirk before ushering the boy beside you as you began to walk, sit down on a bench, and wait for the man your brother spoke of to show up. "… N-now that we're together can I say something?"

"Sure," you shrugged, looking off to the gate before looking back down at your brother.

"… Did… did they suffer?" the boy asked, his eyes innocently staring up at your own while you blinked a few times and tried to grasp his question.

"Ummm… who –"

"Папа and старшая сестра, a-also дедушка. Do… do you also see дедушка death too? D-id anything bad happens to you –"

"One question at a time squirt," you smirked, but the smile on your face faded when a sigh escaped your lips and you scratched the back of your head. "... Maria… well… папа tried to stop it," you began, using your words wisely since Ivan was sitting next to you. "They left home because… well you know the rule Gregory," you shrugged, "and after they left… the curse caught up with them and Maria suffered with a… ummm… fatal wound to the head. The plane they flew in stalled, even though the gas tank was full. Her fiancé jumped out and broke her fall with his own body, папа fought that being… but… it didn't matter. It took папа and gobbled him up, then proceeded to kill Maria… старшая сестра did not stand a chance… as for me no. The occasional threats and guns pointed to my head, but nothing serious."

You ended your explanation with a smile, but knew that Gregory was going to ask more. "You didn't answer my questions completely," he pouted. "Be honest… w-what happened to дедушка?"

"… It was a heart attack," you continued, sitting back and staring off at the far wall, unable to stare at the boy's innocent gaze anymore, "but in reality his heart was ripped out of his chest and he bled on the ground dead. The autopsy concluded that his heart was missing, but Бабушка simply says that it was a heart attack so it can seem… well real. Happy now?" You ended your explanation with a glare, a look of pain and hurt held back on your face except for the small tinge staring down at your little brother through your eyes.

"Yes," he said with a nod, looking down at his hands as if he had done something wrong, "and I'm sorry for asking, but no one would tell me."

"Yeah, well, keep this secret between us and you won't have to worry about getting into trouble," you smirked, rustling up his hair while Gregory yelped and tried to stop your assault with his hands. "… Мама doesn't even know the whole truth. She knows what happened with grandpapa, but not папа and Maria because she honestly doesn't want to know."

"… D-do you think she will die –"

"Well everyone dies," you snorted and gave him a shrug, "and there's nothing you can do about it, but regardless you shouldn't give up living. That's what дедушка would say. Fight, don't let your enemies take your life, and remember that your family is all you have. You can run, hide, or refuse to stay, but when trials come into your life it's your family that will help you through."

Ivan listened contently to your words, a grin on the boy's face while he giggled. "H-he really said that?"

"Yep," you smirked, "and a few other things, but that's enough for one day."

"… I wish I could have met him," Gregory pouted, "because Бабушка doesn't understand and мама can't tell me… I miss Nick."

"That reminds me," you decided to comment, "but what did he do after their deaths?"

"Ummm… no one will say," the boy looked over at you and frowned, "but I have suspicions. Бабушка is the only person who talks to Nicholas… I think… he did something bad."

"Bad? –"

"He lives in Russia, mainly," Gregory shrugged and gave you a faint smile, "and he continues to say he can't come home, yet I think you know why."

"Sadly yes," you huffed, "but I guess there's nothing we can do about that. He shouldn't have done that though. He can't get out of that place once he's started."

"… Did you ever get contacted with those people –"

"At least six times," you told him, standing up and looking off to the terminal gates as they opened for the oncoming train, "but they contacted me long before they tried to get Maria and Nicholas to join them."

"What?!" Gregory jumped to his feet and gasped, "I-I didn't know that –"

"I never told," you smirked before giving him a shrug, "but that's in the past. I think it was because of my shooting abilities. That and I had left the states long before Maria did for that internship of hers."

"Did they say anything special –"

"They said," you sighed and shook your head, getting irritated with having to answer his questions, "that ummm… they saw promise in me and wanted me to join them. That I could, if I worked hard enough, run the entire organization and they would pay for my schooling and lodging at a private boarding school. Just… that would mean I would leave everything and I didn't want to do that… did they talk to you at all?"

"No," Gregory shook his head.

"Good," you snorted, your hands leaning lazily against the armrest while you waited, "because if they did I'll find whoever personally snuck up on you and kill them with my bare hands."

"You go do that," the boy shrugged as if your threats were normal, "but I'm fine сестра, honest." Giving him a nod you kept your sights on the station, noticing that Gregory had begun to shift behind you and hide behind your coat. "That," the boy said as he pointed to a tall man with messy dark brown hair and piercing brown eyes, "that is Filipp."

"Ah, okay boy. Just stay close," you responded as you stood up and took a few steps towards the man, Gregory letting out a startled yelp when his hiding place moved, causing the man's eyes to lock onto them. You kept a fairly large smile on your face, obviously a mask until you could interrogate the man properly. "Welcome to Switzerland," you grinned, Ivan standing slightly behind you, but you could see that he too was giving a false smile on his face while the man set down the two bags in his hands and stared down at you.

"Yes, привет," Filipp nodded and wiped his brow before sticking out his hand to you, "and you must be -insert-your-name- Rom –"

"-insert-your-name- is just fine," you told him, quickly interrupting him before he gave away your last name and you patted Gregory on the shoulder, gesturing him to stop clinging to you so tightly. "Let me just ask, who hired you?" You narrowed your eyes, you voice growing cold while you continued, "Because I'll have you know that us -insert-last-name- don't need supervision, right Gregory?"

"Right," he nodded, glaring up at the man from behind your back.

"Your бабушка hired me –"

"Then who do your work for?" you snarled, pausing and noticing his blank face before letting a huff and turning around. "If you won't answer me then we'll do this later. If we expect to get back to the city before nightfall we will have to depart now. Come on Gregory. You can sit in the back." Ivan watched with curiosity while you kept a stern, cold look on your face as you turned, walking back to the parking lot where you had parked the car. He was intrigued with this secretive family of yours and what else you were hiding from everyone. Plus he didn't like this new Filipp guy as much as you did. His eyes seemed too squinty as if he was hiding something and Ivan knew, while a smirk developed on his face as he walked behind everyone, how to hide devilish intentions. Filipp picked up his pace, obviously not liking the fact that there was a taller Russian man following him with an eerie aura radiating from his body, and would rather face your own annoyed wrath as you walked briskly to an elevator and pressed the button to go down then the man looming behind him.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

You let out a tired sigh, turning your head to the digital clock in the car. Almost two o'clock and it would still be another hour till they got back to the city. You turned your head to Ivan, noticing that he was staring out the window in front of him and seemed to be solemn, too solemn for your liking. You didn't want to question him, but your conversation with your little brother was too revealing for your liking. Should you try to kill him? Ask him questions? You don't really know and you're very tired. It seemed like Gregory was too, the three adults in the car hearing the child snore in the back seat. A smirk showed up on your face at the small squeak from your brother, your gaze soon growing grim thinking of what you'll say to Filipp. You didn't want your brother to hear you just in case the conversation took a turn for the worse, so you decided to make some noise by turning on the radio in the awkward car ride. "… So," you began over the sound of the radio, getting Filipp's attention, "who do you work for?"

"Your бабушка, of course –"

"Don't play coy with me," you snorted in disgust. "You know exactly what I'm talking about… So you're Russian I'm guessing?"

"Yes ma'am –"

"Flew in from Russia recently or only have family there?" He frowned, Ivan turning his head to you and giving you a questionable look.

You ignored him, only wanting to get the answers you seek. "… Why should I tell you –"

"You don't and I'll hunt you down and kill your family and friends," you answered bluntly, a gulp entering Filipp's lips by how emotionless and serious you are with your threat. "Бабушка probably told you about who I am –"

"Not her," he began, his voice growing quieter while you waited for a longer explanation. "… I… I know about the curse –"

"I don't care if you do or not," you snorted. "All I want to know is how you came into contact with my family? Whom do you know? Should I even have a tinge of trust towards you?"

"… I was born in Russia, grew up in Russia, and was ordered to go to the U.S.A. by my босс to watch your brother while he is in Europe –"

"Who's your босс?" you decided to ask before he continued.

"… You don't know him –"

"Are you saying that because you think I can't find out on my own or because you've been sworn to secrecy?" you responded, a soft breath of air escaping the man's mouth before he shook his head and looked out the window. "… Босс huh?" you thought with a smirk. "Is he –"

"Don't pry woman," Filipp threatened with a hiss, your smirk growing bigger at how annoyed he was getting ever so quickly.

"… You're part of the Russian mob, aren't you?" A low chuckle escaped your lips when Ivan snapped his head to look at you in shock, Filipp pulling out his gun suddenly to aim at your head. "_Awww~_ you don't want me to know –"

"Закрой свой рот," he growled, Ivan narrowing his eyes at the gun by the side of his seat.

"Is that an order of yours?" You snorted, acting as if the gun by your head wasn't a bother while you kept your eyes on the road, "To kill whoever knows that secret of yours? Or maybe you are going to do that anyways, Филипп немного, and kill me in cold blood because that's your order –"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Filipp snarled, "but all I was given was to watch Gregory while he's in Europe. That's all."

"Then let's settle this on a peaceful term and put your gun away," you snarled, a smirk coming to your face once the weapon retreated away from your head. "Wow. Some sense in that thick skull of yours."

"… Why are you testing me –"

"Because you infuriate me," you answered in an oddly calm tone, "and we can't trust you yet."

"… You act like your brother," Filipp grumbled, your eyes narrowing while you gripped the wheel tightly.

"_Oh~?_ Whatever do you mean –"

"Николас. You are like Ник…" He paused, letting in a deep breath before breathing out and staring at the back of your head with a cold stare. "You are like босс too. I know about your family's relationship with us because I've had to spy on your family a few times. When your бабушка called and Николас answered her order he sent me here to spy."

"… How is that brother of mine doing?" you decided to ask, letting the thought sink into Ivan's brain while Filipp continued.

"He's run away once and got punished for it," he told you.

"And _why~~_ do you know all this –"

"I've been with босс long before Nicholas started. I don't understand why босс wants him, why he wanted to kidnap you, and –"

"Alright I get it," you snarled slightly in anger. "It's none of your business why he wants me; I don't even know him. Now if you know who I am why are you restraining yourself when talking to me?"

"… Because that's my order so far," he told you, "and I don't want to tell you –"

"Then understand me when I say this," you began to hiss, Ivan staring at you suddenly interested to your new tone of voice, "if you come between me and my family I will kill you. If you so much as try to kill me I'll take you down and your organization. Withhold the information I seek and I'll beat it out of you whether you like it or not. And if you haven't noticed, if you so much as dare scare Gregory in the way you've been doing these past few days I will take that gun on your lap, shoot you in the chest, and dig my fingers into your body until I pull out your sickening, beating heart and smash it with my own fists. Do I make myself clear, сука?"

"Громко и ясно, скучаю," he answered with a nod, putting his gun away while you drove down the unpaved highway and kept your eyes on the road.

You knew Ivan was looking at you, wondering and questioning you as you tried to keep calm and drive. You groaned, turning your head slightly to stare at Ivan and you gave him a pout. "You want to ask me something, don't you?"

"Нет," Ivan answered, humming to himself since the car got quiet again. "… Not now."

"Not now? –"

"Мальчик is listening," Ivan told you, turning his head to stare at Filipp and caused him to flinch back startled. Then he turned back to you, a wide grin on his face while you simply rolled your eyes. "No reason to ask vu yet, да? Ve have plenty of time ven we get home, подсолнух. No need to rush."

"… Are you going to tell Zavid o-r maybe your boss about this –"

"Нет," Ivan snorted lightly, though the grin was still on his face while he beamed at you. "This is betveen you and me." You didn't hear anything after that and didn't want to answer him, concentrating on your driving while Ivan continued to stare every once in a while at the passenger behind him. You had to admit you **really** didn't know what to do now. Can you trust Ivan? Well you'll have to, you sighed and shook your head, because you still need to interrogate Filipp and get more information from him.

After a while you began to hear quiet whimpers in the back, a snarl escaping your lips when Filipp didn't try to wake the boy up. "Личинка," you hissed, getting Filipp's attention, "wake the boy up."

"Why –"

"Are you talking back?" you asked in a threatening tone, the man pausing before a tired sigh escaped his lips.

"Извините," he mumbled, shaking the boy beside him until Gregory shot up and stared straight ahead in shock.

"Не поймите мен –"

"Gregory stop yelling and calm down!" you yelled into the back, the boy flinching and looking around at his surroundings completely confused.

"… С-cестра?" the boy gulped with a frightened look on his face while you turned to him and gave him a playful smile.

"It was just a bad dream Greg. You're okay now, with сестра," you continued to smile, but had your gaze on the road again. "You can go back to sleep now. You'll be woken up again before anymore nightmares can possibly come back, да?"

"Д-да," the boy nodded, closing his eyes and putting his head back against the pillow he had under his head, "okay. Good night."

"Good night Greg. Sleep well," you told him, letting the boy get back to sleep while a tired sigh escaped your lips. The rest of the car ride was quiet without as much as a peep coming from Filipp and Ivan. That didn't bother you in the least, you were just happy that for once you could spend some time with Gregory again before the events took a turn for the worse.

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: Oh wow! So your little brother shows up in the story! I would try to do -insert-little-brother-name-, but that would get complicated. So I'll just give your brother a name, and there's a reason for the name too ;D Anyways I hope you enjoyed the story so far. I answered the reviews below and I hope to see you next time! Review answers:**

**NotSigningInXP (chap 2) – ah really? You think it's fantastic? Thank you! =D and I'm glad you decided to follow the story and I'll try to update consistently, but I'm not going to make promises ^^'**

**HAPPY READER (chap 9) – oh I'm writing, trust me! And I'll try to update as soon as I can ^^**

_босс_ – Russian – _boss, honcho, master, tycoon, administrative boss_

_закрой свой рот _– Russian – _shut your mouth_

_Филипп немного_ – Russian – _little Filipp_

_Николас_ – Russian – _Nicholas _

_сука_ – Russian – _bitch, slut_

_Громко и ясно, скучаю_ – Russian – _Loud and clear, miss_

_мальчик_ – Russian – _[the] boy _

_личинка_ – Russian – _larva, maggot, grub, nymph, slug _

_не поймите меня_ – Russian – _don't take me_


	11. The Sweet Pains

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Meh. I had some time so I'm reviewing another chapter. Woot! I hope you like, though this chapter, I think is just filler stuff and going into the background some more. Not a lot of exciting things happen… yeah… I guess it does, but it's bluntly placed in the story ^^' ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

"Hey Mr. Jones," you said over the phone while you parked the car into the driveway, letting everyone leave the car before closing the garage door and watching as Filipp gathered everything into his hands. "How was the day? Are you home –… Oh okay," you nodded in understanding. "Out with who?... Alright – No I won't go. I need to get Gregory situated first… I'm guessing he'll be asleep by the time you get home," you groaned while you grabbed your briefcase, Filipp's eyes widening as you grabbed the gun hiding in the glove compartment and slipped it into a holster on the side of your belt. "… Alfred… Alfred… America listen! God!" you grumbled, getting a giggle from Gregory while Filipp looked towards you baffled. "I wasn't done talking –… Okay fine. Whatever." You roughly closed the driver's door, noticing everything was accounted for and _**'clicked'**_ the car closed with the beeper in your hand. "Will you be home for dinner at least – Okay. Just have fun then. Don't be out too late. Make sure Arthur gets home in one piece… yeah fine. Do that." Rolling your eyes you closed your phone, giving Ivan a smile as you opened the door that led into the house and let everyone inside before locking the door behind you. "So Ivan," you began and set your briefcase on top of a nearby chair, "I'd invite you to stay, but I'm guessing you want to go somewhere –"

"Нет." Ivan shook his head and grinned back, "Vu are inviting me to dinner? –"

"If you don't mind homemade food then yes," you smirked, offering the tall man a seat while you whispered to Gregory and ushered him upstairs. "So ummm… Filipp I have your room downstairs. Can you follow me?"

"Sure," he nodded, you looking back and giving Ivan a look to not follow while you led the other man down the stairs, the lights off as you wandered through the lower level with Filipp following.

You kept the lights off for an obvious reason and opened a door, letting the man move to and fro avoiding the clutter on the floor as you ushered him inside. "You can stay in here," you said with a smile, the man putting his bag down and looking into the room. He could barely see a thing, your smirk growing wider as a metal bat slipped out of your hand and you swung your arm back. "While you tell me _everything~_ you know about my brother."

"Wha –"

His breath hitched, your bat contacting with his head while he let out a frustrated cry. As quick as a flash you grabbed a bottle of chloroform from a table by your side and added the liquid to a rag, covering it over Filipp's mouth as his eyes widened in shock and he squirmed around like a fish out of water. You kept your hand over his mouth and straddled his waist on the ground until he stopped squirming, leaving the cloth by his mouth for a few more seconds before letting go and taking a step away. "Thank god that's over," you huffed, a shudder escaping your shoulders as you flicked a switch hidden by a lamp and turned the light on in the interrogation room.

You began to drag the man, letting out a few grunts and strains as you pulled him into the room. "-insert-your-name-?" a voice came from the door, your eyes shooting up until you let out a sigh and gave the holder of the voice a smile.

"Gregory," you smiled to him, the boy noticing the blood that was on the unconscious man's head and the bloody metal rod on the ground, "I told you to stay upstairs –"

"I-I didn't want to," he pouted, stepping into the room and staring at you with sad eyes. "I… I need to see this, right?"

"If you wish," you shrugged, groaning while you pulled up the man and set him into the chair, "or you can keep Ivan occupied while I –"

"Vile you _**what**__, подсолнух~?_" a much deeper voice came from behind the boy, Gregory yelping in surprise as he jumped away and shuffled to the corner of the room.

"Crap," you cursed under your breath, letting out a grunt while you tried to pull the man onto the chair and he slid back down. You huffed and flipped back your hair, giving Ivan a glare while he simply grinned at you. "… What are you going to do, _**Ivan~~**_? –"

"Подсолнух, vhy didn't you just tell me?" You stared at him confused, a smirk on his face as he walked into the room. You were used to the odd purple aura that would sometimes radiate from his body, especially over his head, but for the first time in a while you started to feel rather small and insignificant when confronting the taller man. You quickly took a step back and almost pressed yourself into the wall, Ivan looking over at you and staring at you with a look of hurt in his eyes. You gestured Gregory to leave and you glared at Ivan until the boy left, your eyes and then the features slowly turning from anger into slight fear. He seemed sad by your reaction, his head hanging down as he grabbed the unconscious man under his arms and threw him into the chair. "There. Done."

You were baffled by his actions, watching as Ivan turned around and began to walk out of the room. "… Ivan?" you called to him, the man stopping but not turning his head to look at you. "I'm… sorry for reacting that way… it's just… I can't have anyone knowing –"

"Да, I know. It's okay. Vu don't have to explain –"

"No I have to," you pouted, walking around the man slumped in the chair and grabbed Ivan's hand, pulling on him and trying to get him to turn and face you. "We have to talk about this Ivan. You know **way** too much about me and I can't have you get hurt."

"Hurt? Me? Россия?" Ivan turned to you, his normal smile on his face that seemed to beam brighter than it usually does. "No one can hurt Россия –"

"Ivan," you frowned, trying to get him to listen to you, "it's… just… you don't understand –"

"Vu have zan older brother in the Russian mafia and a family curse," he said as if it was as thin as air. "There zis nothing you have to explain –"

"No, you listen," you pouted, letting go of his hand and letting a tired sigh escape your lips. He looked to him puzzled, watching as you turned your back on him and you began to lock Filipp into chains and bounds attached to the chair and the wall. "… You should go see if Gregory didn't run out of the house. I'll be up in a moment." The smile on Ivan's face waned and he turned around, kicking the metal bat into the wall and causing the loud sound to echo throughout the small cell.

! #$%^&*()

Hustling down the stairs you gave Ivan and Gregory a smile, the boy smiling back while the man sat in one of the dining chairs waiting for you to finish. "Sorry about all that," you chuckled lightly, rushing over to the stove and looking at the large pot heating on the stove. "It's all done now – Say Greg could you grab the kielbasa from the fridge for me?"

"Да сестра," he nodded, his eyes still on Ivan while he stared back with an equally untrusting look and quickly did as you said.

You hummed, trying to get rid of the tension in the room, and started the rice cooker as well as start boiling the sausage. "Everything will be done in an hour," you told them, grabbing three cups and grabbing the hot water from the top of the stove. "Anyone like some tea?"

"Tea?" Gregory snorted, "You drink tea now?"

"Eh, you want some hot chocolate then?" you shrugged, throwing him a hot chocolate packet while you smirked and slid a hot cup of water and a spoon. You knew too well that your brother loved hot chocolate on a cold evening like today, so you turned your attention to Ivan who seemed to be off in his own world. "… Ivan?" you called to him.

"Huh?" he blinked, staring over at you while you smiled.

"Would you like something to drink?" You paused, a smile on your face as you handed him the hot water. "We have some instant hot chocolate and some tea packets, and don't tell me you'd rather have vodka. Not until dinner."

"Нет, vhy must ve wait –"

"Come on Ivan, _don't be mean~_" the boy said, grinning happily while he sipped his hot drink. "No drinking till dinner."

Ivan blinked in confusion while you chuckled, rustling up the boy's head and walking back over to the cabinets. "So would you like anything?"

"… Hot chocolatte iz okay," Ivan told you, your hand grabbing two more packets and handing over a spoon to Ivan.

You sighed as you poured the powder, thinking to yourself while the water slowly turned to chocolate. Sipping you let out a content breath, taking off your scarf and even your jacket. You looked up at Ivan, who was taking his time with his drink, and you waited till he began to sip his drink before you spoke again. "So… can we talk **now**?"

Ivan looked over at you, his eyes hounding in on your own in an attempt to intimidate you. "The boy over there –"

"Gregory is fine," you snorted. "He's my kin, my family, and has every right to know what's going on as I do… and to be honest I don't entirely know everything… yet. So, why aren't you telling anyone about this? Should I even trust you?"

You narrowed your eyes at Ivan, the man setting down his cup and slowly gave you a devious smile. "My dear подсолнух, I've kept vour secrets up to now, да? Vhy must you question if you've already known ven you brought me that your conversations vod turn into useful information?"

"… Are you going to blackmail me?" you pouted, glaring at him while you sipped your drink.

"_Авось~_ –"

"-insert-your-name-, what does he know –"

"Everything to what you've said to the Russian mob and Nick," you told your brother darkly, a gasp escaping Gregory's mouth while Ivan let out a sudden snort.

"Vat is your involvement with **them**?" Ivan asked, a snarl escaping your mouth as the two of you fought with only your eyes.

"Why should you care?" You snorted. "Do you hate them or something –"

"They've been bringing boss to the brink of chaos," Ivan shrugged, your eyebrow raising while he swirled the drink in his hand before quickly chugging it down and slamming the cup on the table. "Vhet that doesn't bother me. They've been very beneficial for Russia, but vhy vould thugs want your family –"

"You know I have no idea Ivan," you pouted, sitting back in your chair and looking over at Gregory with a tired look on your face. "… My family left Russia because of our involvement with the mob. My grandparents left for that reason, but not even my mother knows why. We also left because of a curse, a curse that has plagued our family even before this current mafia was started –"

"Sister, don't tell him –"

"And what happens is," you paused, giving Gregory a glance as he looked at you with worried eyes, a sigh escaping your lips while you shook your head. "Is…"

"Vu don't have to tell me –"

"N-no you're a friend. I think I can trust you, **think**," you gave him a glance, letting a breath escape your mouth as you glared at him with a hint of sadness growing in your eyes. "… The curse is that… every member, bloodline descendents, is plagued with the images of those whom had passed away before us. Every cry, every scream, and every single piece of pain that shot through their bodies as they died is inflicted on us in our dreams… Do you know the movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street?" Seeing Ivan nod you continued. "Well… it's like that. There's a creature in the dream that haunts us, tries to pull us into its world. If we don't wake up it's because we died in the dream. Yet it's not the one doing the killing, it is because we are seeing the death of our own ancestors and in that world the people in the dream grab us and torture us, trying to kill us like them. It is during our weakest moments that the creature grabs us, like for example we had this one ancestor that died because he stumbled onto a lake and fell through the ice. Another was trapped in the middle of a snowdrift in her car and the vehicle wouldn't start, so she froze to death."

"… That –"

"Is hard to believe?" You smirked, your little brother staring at you with worry in his eyes while you continued, "It's true. Don't believe me then fine. The American government does. They nabbed me when I had joined the army for that reason. They wanted to experiment, see if the curse was true. If so then they wanted to control it, figure out a way to use that darkness and magic for themselves. Don't ask me why or how, but it's the only logical explanation. As for my older brother I don't know about him. We went our separate ways when we both left home, around the time my father and older sister died."

"I can see vy you vant to keep everything a secret," Ivan commented, getting up and walking over to the liquor cabinet.

"… Will you –"

"-insert-your-name-," Ivan continued, a smirk on his face as he began to drink a shot of scotch and stare at you deviously, "your secret is safe with me, да?"

You smiled, continuing to drink your hot chocolate till there was nothing left. "Ummm… yes, да –"

"Hey wait now!" Gregory snarled and jumped to his feet, glaring at Ivan as hatred filled the little boy's eyes, "We can't just trust him on words alone! What if he tells? How can you _casually~~_ tell him all this without taking proper care about this? Сестра, what if he tries to kill us for this –"

"_Ahh~_, don't trust vour Mother Russia?" Ivan responded with a sly smile, Gregory staring at him confused while you reached out your hand to grasp the little boy's.

"What do you mean _**Mother Russia~**_?!" The boy snarled, a smirk coming to your face as you pulled Gregory onto your lap.

"Greg," you sighed and brushed through his hair, a confused look on his face while you smiled at him happily, "there's something I have to tell you about whom I work for and who Ivan is."

"What is it, sis –"

"Ivan Braginski is… Russia," you told him, putting a hand on his lips as you continued, "and I work as the secretary for the personification of America, whose name is Alfred F. Jones."

! #$%^&*()

"So there's a guy named Germany and he has a brother named Gilbert, who's also Eastern Germany and was Prussia?" Gregory stared at you confused, your head nodding while you stood up and let out a sigh. "B-but that still doesn't make sense!" He threw up his hands trying to get your attention again as you went over to the stove to see if the food was ready. "E-even if that was true, that would mean… дедушка and папа specifically told us to stay away from Russians –"

"The Russian **mafia** Gregory," you rolled your eyes, "because anyone who'd comes into contact with us in America was a Russian, no?"

"… I guess you're right –"

"And Ivan is Russia. The actual Russian Federation. That's the difference," you smirked slyly, beginning to hum while you put the kielbasa on a large plate and set everyone on the stove so they could grab the food. "… Look, I still don't get the whole idea, but you know that recent earthquake in Japan and that one in Texas and between the Mexican border? Yeah, Japan, America, and Mexico all got sick and it took me a week to get Alfred back to his normal, spontaneous self."

"They could have been lying –"

"The man threw up Greg," you chuckled, "and his face was turning pale. It's sort of hard to fake that type of stuff, I know from experience, so after that I figured to put that idea into consideration."

"… T-then why tell this Russia everything –"

"Boy, how about we start eating and then we can talk about this, okay?" You told him, the boy letting an exasperated sigh escape his lips while he jumped out of his chair and walked over to a cabinet, pulling out some plates and utensils. You let the two others get their food as you placed your plate where you were sitting, walking over to the wine cabinet and grabbing a large bottle of vodka and three shot glasses. "… Say Greg your birthday is coming up, right?"

"Right сестра –"

"Good," you smirked happily, setting the glasses down in the middle of the table as well as the bottle and pouring out your own glass and one for your brother. "Want some vodka?"

"Yeah okay," your brother nodded, a slight smile on his face as he sat at his seat and placed his plate down, "b-but this isn't really a special occasion –"

"Hey, with me _anything~_ is a special occasion," you winked, pouring all the vodka in your cup down your throat before turning back to your brother with a smirk. "Besides I probably won't be home for your birthday. I have to do so traveling before and after Christmas. As much as I'd love to give your gift and everything later, I'll have to do it now, okay?"

"Okay," he grinned happily, waiting for Ivan to sit down before he began to chow down on his food. "When –"

"_Oh you'll know~~_" you smirked slyly, humming while you poured more vodka into your cup and handed the bottle over to Ivan.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

"Thank you for the dinner подсолнух," Ivan smiled, a chuckle escaping your lips as you watched him open the front door and a cold breeze blew into the house. "Зд `орово."

"I'm glad you liked it," you giggled, a low huff escaping your lips as he turned to walk away, "and ummm… what are you going to say to Zavid –"

"I vas out. He not need to question me," Ivan told you, a worried look on your face while you placed your hand on the door and gave him a weak smile.

"Well… okay then. Good night –"

"Подсолнух, I vill keep your secrets. Don't be so worried, да?" He paused, turning on his heel and walking back up the steps. You stared at him in slight shock, watching at him cautiously while he gently grasped your hands into his gloves and stared at you with a reassuring look in his bright purple eyes. "Подсолнух, я никогда не предам тебя. Вы поверьте мне, да?"

You stared at him and then your eyes slowly softened, though a frown was still on your face as you spoke to him. "А-авось –"

"Ты мне доверяешь, подсолнух?" Ivan asked, his eyes growing tearful by the seconds while you refused to answer him.

"Ah…" You bit down on your bottom lip, unsure of what you should say. Did you really trust him? To be honest you didn't even trust Alfred, not even any of your family members except for Gregory and perhaps Nicholas on occasions. So did you trust Ivan? Did you really? When you felt the grip in your hands loosen you quickly gripped his gloved back, your eyes staring up at him in a plea for him to stay. "I-I uhmm… Ivan, я-я тебе доверяю. I-if I didn't why would I let you come with me even though I knew the subject of my family would be brought up?... I… I don't know what to say, b-but to be honest with you I can't really trust anyone, not even my family. I'm just worried, okay? If something bad happens to Greg I don't know what I'd do –"

"Тише, тише подсолнух. It vill be okay, да?" He smiled to you and you weakly smiled back, but the worry in your eyes overpowered anything else you could do. You sighed and let go of his hand, but now he wasn't letting go and suddenly pulled you closer to him. Before you could protest he pulled you into a tight hug, your face blushing like crazy while random little sounds escaped your mouth in your confused state. "I won't tell Zavid and I won't tell my boss, especially with that man in your basement. I don't like him either подсолнух. You did good, да?"

You chuckled, his grin growing while you started to smile warmly back to him. "Good? Me? That's a first," you snorted.

"Да, зд `орово. Too bad you're vont one vith Mother Russia, да?" If your blush wasn't noticeable it was now, your voice stuttering slightly until you looked down embarrassed and shook your head.

"N-no I, its w-hat I do Ivan. That's all. D-don't make it weird like that –"

"Weird? Vhat's weird? Nothing's _veird~_ подсолнух," he smirked, his gloves letting go of your hands while he began to walk down the steps again, but kept his head turned towards you in a sly way. "Спокойной ночи -insert-your-name-."

"Y-yes, good night Ivan. See you tomorrow," you waved to him slightly, watching as he walked down the stairs, out the front gate, and disappeared into the city and the light snowfall.

A sigh escaped your lips and you closed the door, rubbing your cheeks in irritation knowing that you were blushing. You had never felt this way since Alex died, but did you honestly want to? No, you didn't. Ivan will end up dead like Alex if he stays close to you, but what can you do? The man wouldn't leave you alone even if you tried. Sighing you locked the door and walked down the hallway, hearing the water running from the kitchen as Gregory walked from the table to the sink washing dishes and wiping the dining table clean. "… You love him like you did with Alexander, don't you?"

You looked over at your little brother confused, but then shook your head and sat down at the table. "Don't say something like that Gregory," you frowned, grabbing the vodka bottle and drinking down the small amount left at the bottom straight from the bottle. "You know how everything is. I'm not going to bring someone into our mess anymore. You know how **that** goes: first grandmother, then father, and even Maria's fiancé. They all die or will go insane, and I'd rather not hurt another person again… like what happened with Alex."

Gregory frowned, knowing he had crossed a line, but then sighed and shook his head as he started the dishwasher and walked over to you. "That's not your fault –"

"It feels like my fault and I don't like it," you snorted, grumbling while your brother grabbed the bottle from your hand and threw it away in the trash can. "But it doesn't matter now. That curse, it'll increase now that you're here with me."

"It will? –"

"Of course," you shrugged, standing up and brushing random dust from your clothes. "That's probably бабушка plan to keep her _beloved Nicolay~ _safe. That way the curse will pass on to either you or me… god I hate what she's becoming."

"… I don't like it either -insert-your-name-, but there's nothing we can do about it. What's done is done… let's just go to sleep." Gregory smiled, grasping your hand and pulling you out of the kitchen. The two of you walked side by side up the stairs, a grin plastered on the little boy's face while he pulled you into his current room.

Yet you couldn't help but frown. To have a child, especially your brother, knowing everything and having to hide his pain as you do didn't make you happy. You wish the death threats would stop; you could run away and have a normal life with someone and not have to worry about your family and your stupid curse, but that wasn't possible. You were stuck in a cycle that will continue till each of your blood relatives was dead. That's how it was, only one sibling ever really survived. This time, this generation, you will make sure Gregory is the one who lives. Screw your older brother. He hasn't done anything for Gregory and you. If you died so be it… you just wanted your little brother to stay safe. "Alright брат. I will take the first shift. Go to sleep and I'll wake you up in a few hours, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded, your hand closing the door behind you while your watched your little brother run around the room and change out of his outfit into his pajamas. "… Can you tell me a story, l-like you used to –"

"Of course," you smirked, watching as Gregory jumped into his bed and rustled up the sheets. You chuckled, noticing he had only one lamp on in the room, the one on the lamp stand. "Which story –"

"The Little Star! That one!" your brother giggled, a grin on your face as your movements became softer and you tucked the boy into the bed.

"Okay," you told him, "I'll tell that story:

'Little star lived in space with all the other stars and planets. Most stars were shiny and bright and made patterns in the sky, but try as she might, Little Star couldn't shine as brightly as the other stars.

'One night when the other stars were dancing around the moon Little Star set off to see her friend, Twinkle. Now Twinkle was a wishing star and could make Little Star's wish come true. She wanted to be the brightest star in the universe! But Little Star couldn't find Twinkle anywhere and she started to cry. Would she ever be as bright as the other stars?

'Suddenly she heard a friendly voice calling out, "Little Star, Little Star grab hold of my tail and I'll take you for a ride!" It was Corky the comet. Corky had a long silvery tail and was always rushing through space. Straight away Little Star leaped onto Corky's tail. It was time for an adventure!

'"Where are we going?" Little Star asked Corky. "We're going to visit my old friend Mr. Sun, the biggest and brightest star of all." Little Star was so excited she nearly fell off Corky's tail. As Corky sped through space Little Star could feel the warm glow from Mr. Sun getting closer." We'll fly once around Mr. Sun and then it's back home for tea," bellowed Corky. Little Star couldn't wait.

'As they got nearer Corky heard Little Star shout out, "Hello Mr. Sun."

'Mr. Sun slowly turned around to see who it was. "Well if it isn't my old friend Corky… and who have you brought along to see me today?" he said with a warm and friendly voice. "This," said Corky, "is my new friend Little Star." "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Sun," said Little Star. "I wish I was big and bright like you."

'Mr. Sun chuckled to himself. "It will be a long time before you're as big as me," he said, "But you'll be much brighter sooner than you think," he said, winking at Corky.

'Then Mr. Sun reached out his long shimmering arm and shook hands with Little Star, and as he let go a strange thing happened. Little Star felt all tingly inside, her eyes lit up and suddenly she started to glow brighter and brighter. "Looks like Mr. Sun has cheered you up a bit," said Corky. Little Star gave Corky a big smile then turned around to wave goodbye to Mr. Sun. "Thank you for making me bright and shiny," shouted Little Star. "You always were," said Mr. Sun, "you just had to feel it inside."

'Then with a whoosh from Corky's tail as they shot off through space and before Little Star knew it they were back home just in time for tea.'…"

You smiled, noticing Gregory had fallen asleep. You stood up to your feet and let out a sigh, deciding to walk over to the window and looking outside. Your eyes glistened at the snow falling from the sky, your body stumping beside the window while you gazed outside and watched the snowflakes flutter down from above. "Sweet dreams Gregory," you turned to your little brother, noticing the soft snore he was making as he curled up in his bed, "and I promise you that nothing will harm you, ever, not while I'm here."

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: Well that's it! A little more into the story we go! ;D I hope you enjoyed it. Yes, you tied up Filipp in the interrogation room. Honestly I didn't like the man myself XD but whatever. We'll see what happens next… well I'll see you later then. BYE! =3**

_авось_ – Russian – _maybe, perhaps_

_Я никогда не предам тебя_ – Russian – _I will never betray you_

_Вы поверьте мне _– Russian – _You trust me _

_Ты мне доверяешь _– Russian – _Do you trust me _

_Я тебе доверяю _– Russian – _I trust you_

_тише_ – Russian – _quiet, hush, silence, gently, soft_

_спокойной ночи _– Russian – _good night_

Bedtime story – "_Little Star_" by Patrick Smith (found online at )


	12. The Cautious Notes

Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Well today I had some time to review another chapter so here I am, reviewing another chapter! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter and if you have any comments, questions, ideas, things you'd like to see, don't be afraid to comment! ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

When the mass was over, Gregory and you quickly stood to your feet, only to be stopped by a large bosom woman who grabbed hold of the little boy beside you. Your brother let out a terrified yelp and you simply chuckled, looking up and giving Ivan a smile while he looked at you nervously and Natasha glared at you through dark blue eyes. "Cute little хлопчик! Yes you are! –"

"This is Gregory, my little brother, and he's personally visiting me for a little while," you told Katyusha, but also told Ivan and Natasha since they were by you. Mainly it was Ivan standing by you and Natasha clinging to her brother's arm while she glared at you, but you pretended to not notice as Gregory tried to push himself away until the older woman put him down. "Gregory," you said, pulling the boy next to your thigh while he tried to reorient himself, "these are Ivan's two sisters, Katyusha Braginskaya and Natasha Arlovskaya."

"Oh," he shook his head, a nervous smile on his face while he tried to be friendly, "h-ello." Gregory paused, looking up at you before continuing, "Which countries are they?"

"Ukraine and Belarus, of course," you smirked, deciding his questions were irrelevant and turned to face Ivan. "So where are we going today? –"

"Ve wanted to ask the boy vere he vould like to go," Ivan explained, your eyebrow rising before you gave him a nod.

"Okay Greg, where to –"

"Is there anything Chinese around here?" he asked, your eyes looking down at him confused.

"Chinese?" You snorted, "Why Chinese –"

"Cháng Lei always takes me out to Chinese once a month at her family's fast food place and I take her out for some homemade Russian food at my house," he beamed happily.

"Chang Lei, who –"

"Lei **Cháng**, but prefers Cháng Lei since her family recently moved from China and visits from time to time," he continued to smile, a confused look on your face while Gregory sighed and scratched the back of his head. "She… is just someone I know from school, okay? She taught me some Mandarin and Japanese and I taught her some Russian –"

"Well whatever," you snorted, rustling up his hair and looking over at Katyusha with a smile. "I know some places around here, but I don't know if you guys would like to go to a Chinese restaurant –"

"Oh we would love to!" Katyusha giggled happily and grabbed Gregory's hand roughly, pulling him down the aisle as he yelled and called out for his big sister.

You looked to Ivan and smiled, the man smiling back until he felt Natasha gripping him tighter and hissing at you. "Д-да, vet's go before старшая сестра does something horrid to zi little Gregory."

"Yeah let's go," you nodded in agreement, the three of you walking down the aisle and leaving out the back door, your eyes searching for Gregory as you walked down the steps outside.

! #$%^&*()

After ordering and finding a table the five of you sat down: Ivan sitting on one side with his sisters on either side of him and Gregory and you on the other side of the table with an extra chair by your side. The five of you talked about many things, mainly Katyusha asking Gregory questions while Natasha continued to glare at you and strangely play around with her butter knife while grinning at you suggestively. You simply smiled, a sly smile to counteract her creepy actions. Sadly Ivan was stuck in the middle, a soft whine escaping his lips every once in a while as Natasha commented that you're making her brother upset. "For the love of God Natasha, I'm not trying to steal your brother –"

"_**Yes you are~**_" she hissed at you, staring daggers at you while she pulled tighter on her brother's arm. Ivan let out a whine of distress and Katyusha noticed, Gregory looking at you confused until Katyusha giggled and gently pried her sister and brother from each other.

"Oh! So who's this Cháng Lei you've been talking about?" you asked, a smirk on your face while you slurped up a noodle.

"L-lei?" Gregory looked over at you with a glare before shrugging. "Just a friend –"

"_Awww~_ do you like her?" you chuckled lightly.

Your brother's mouth practically dropped at your comment while his face became as red as a chili pepper on his plate. "I, uh, NO! –"

"Hah! You do and you _know~_ it," you snickered. "What do you like about her?"

"… She's pretty and smart," Gregory looked down to his hands and fumbled around with a napkin, "a-and… I can talk to her about stuff."

"Stuff? –"

"The family stuff," he paused, noticing your irritated gaze down on him before continuing with a sigh. "W-ell we met when our family visited their family and… well… we sort of got around to talking –"

"_Gregory~~_ –"

"Eh she's my only true friend sis! Please don't start something bad –"

"Nah I was just thinking about something," you commented, glancing over at Ivan who seemed to be the only one who wasn't confused, "because I have my own friends so I shouldn't criticize your own."

"Oh thank god," your brother let out a relieved sigh, beginning to stuff his face again while he tried to speak with food in his mouth.

"… Have you had problems in school –"

"N-no, it's just that I haven't had any friends and she's one of my only ones," he told you, looking at you with a slight smile and you groaned in disgust as a noodle stuck out of his mouth. "Oh, sorry," Gregory giggled and slurped up the noodle. "Anyways don't you know Claudia and Mario –"

"Mario is **not** my friend," you snarled in disgust.

"Whatever," Gregory waved off your comment, "you know them right? –"

"And Sebastian," you smirked.

Gregory looked at you confused, cocking his head to the side at your words. "Sebastian…"

"… Fleischer? Sebastian Fleischer, Gregory. You've met him before, haven't you? –"

"Oh him!... You are?" he stared at you questionably.

"Yes," you chuckled happily, "we were in the army together. Was a hard ass, but we got to talking and saw eye to eye on some things."

"Ah!" he smiled, "I didn't know that –"

"Well if you get along with this girl by the time you graduate you can speak with her family more often, right?" you winked, a pout forming on your brother's face as well as a snarl.

"Oh fine," he grumbled. "We'll see about that."

A grin lay on your face as you finished your meal, noticing that Katyusha was whispering into Ivan's ear and he shrugged in reply. You raised an eyebrow at this, Katyusha noticing your gaze and quickly turning back to talk with Gregory and you. Gregory was the first one done even though he had the most on his plate, a sigh escaping your lips when you sat back after finishing your last bite. "Ugh, you were right. This food is sort of good."

"Different from home, huh –"

"Hey I never said I hated any sort of Asian food. Just not used to it," you shrugged.

Gregory looked around curiously, noticing a man with short black hair singing on a karaoke machine that was connected to the internet. "Hey -insert-your-name-, do you know who that is –"

"Honda Kiku or in other words Japan," you told him, Gregory nodding while he stood up and walked over to the corner of the building. You watched him with confused eyes, staring at him intently while he spoke to the country in perfect Japanese and seemed to be talking to Kiku in an enthusiastic way.

Ivan noticed the intrigued look on your face as you heard your brother laugh from across the room, sighing again while you turned to the others and gave them a slight smile. "Has your brother met America yet –"

"Nope," you told Katyusha with a smirk. "Alfred keeps leaving while we're coming. He was still sleeping this morning when we got ready to leave and he'll probably be gone by the time we get back." You decided to shrug, sipping on your drink before looking over at Ivan and then back at Katyusha. "You know, I feel bad because every week I'm intruding on your family time –"

"No! It's been a lot of fun!" Katyusha giggled happily, looking deep into your eyes while she gently placed a hand atop your own. "You're not intruding on anything, I promise you that."

You pouted, glancing at Natasha before sitting back and causing Katyusha to let go of your hand. "I have my doubts, you know –"

"You know what? We should invite you over for dinner!" Katyusha exclaimed, Natasha staring at her in shock while Ivan smiled at the idea.

"That's a great idea старш –"

"No that's not!" Natasha yelled and slammed her hands on the table, staring at her older sister in slight fright while Ivan flinched backward to avoid her wrath. "That's a horrible idea старшая сестра! W-why should we invite this brother stealer and slut to our house –"

"Hey I'm not a slut!" you snarled, glaring at Natasha while she whipped her head around and glared back. You didn't flinch, snorting and crossing your arms over your chest. "I don't even see what your problem is Natasha. You never want to listen, do you –"

In an instant a large butcher knife was drawn and aimed at your neck, Natasha snarling and glaring while you simply stared deep into her dark blue eyes. "Stay away from my большой брат -insert-your-name-, or else I'll slit your throat –"

"Go right ahead," you huffed, your eyes quickly becoming cold and stale, causing Natasha to flinch at your hidden anger, "I don't even care."

"Natasha –" Ivan paused, noticing that you had put up your hand to quiet him.

Natasha gazed into your eyes and noticed how dead they were, not caring if you died or not. Then she let out a sigh, sitting back in her seat and putting her knife on the table with a snort. "You're no fun –"

"Gregory put that gun down," you said casually behind you, the three siblings' eyes widening and noticing that the boy had been behind your back the entire time, breathing heavily while he held the gun at Natasha and had his finger on the trigger. "… **Now** –"

"Да, старшая сестра," Gregory continued to glare at Natasha as he sat down in his seat, but keeping the gun loaded in his hand in case the Belarusian woman did something else, "but if you _dare~_ try to harm my sister I'll personally kill you with a bullet through your head."

"You little br –"

"_Gregory~_, I love that you want to keep me safe, but if you get blood on your own hands I'm going to be disappointed in you," you said in a very calm, innocent way, but enough to send a shiver down someone's spine if they were overhearing you. "Unload your gun, hand it over, and let's forget about this okay?"

"… Fine," he grumbled, unloading the gun and putting it into your hand. Looking over at Ivan you snorted, putting the gun into one of your pockets and rustling up your brother's hair. "Hey! –"

"You're so cute when you're angry," you giggled, Katyusha also laughing along to get rid of the unnerving feeling that plagued the room while Ivan joined in and chuckled nervously. "I didn't know you knew Japanese too –"

"I told you Lei is teaching me," Gregory grinned happily, noticing that you weren't angry anymore and the threat was over. "Oh! And Kiku told me that the karaoke machine is an instant link to . So could you do a song, _please~~_?"

"What?" You snorted and shook your head. "I haven't been on there in a while –"

"You can log in sister and it's not hard. Kiku showed me. Plus I promised him, _so __**please**__~?_" You rolled your eyes, grumbling under your breath at your brother's bright puppy eyes.

"That's not going to work on me –"

"I not know you do music," Ivan commented, Natasha looking over at her brother with a frown while Katyusha sat back and listened to the conversation.

"Yes, there was this child I was babysitting and he had me sign up for the network so he could have a band. I used to play the guitar, but after that experience I've gotten pretty good at the electric guitar," you smirked, sipping on your drink before sighing in thought. "I sometimes play when I'm bored or I need something to do. Also I've been told a few times I could work as a musician, but I like my current job better," you smiled. "Well I guess if everyone is going to ask I'll do it –"

"Sweet! Come on!" Gregory jumped up excitedly, pulling you out of your seat while you yelped and grabbed your drink before he pulled you away. You gave a slight bow to Kiku when your brother pulled you up on the stage, the man smiling and giving you a bow back. "Kiku, do you know my sister –"

"Yes," the man responded while he knelt back down and fiddled around with the equipment. "I talk to America all the time, so I see -insert-your-name- most of the time. Hello -insert-your-name-."

"Hello Kiku," you grinned back, looking around and seeing a microphone, a set of drums, and an electric guitar. "You have an account too –"

"risingsun477," he smiled, brushing the dust from his pants before chuckling at you. "I come here on my days off and play."

"Oh you do?" you blinked in confusion. "I didn't know you countries had accounts too –"

"Some do, others don't. I come across awesomePrussia989 all the time, but I'm not very good –"

"It's not about how good you are, just if you like to play," you smiled, looking at the laptop screen and logging yourself onto the site. "Though if you go onto the expert sites, then it matters… You don't mind if I play, do you?"

"Go ahead –"

"Because I play on the expert levels. If you don't want to play on those levels I'm sorry. I don't want to take your fun weekend away from you –"

"I would rather hear you play," Kiku said with a smile. "Gregory says you're very good. Are you?"

"I-I really don't think so –"

"Go ahead and brag сестра," Gregory grinned widely. "Your hands are like hummingbirds when you play! Just admit it."

You rolled your eyes and chuckled, "Okay I admit that. Now sit down and I'll play you a song… Original or something from online?"

"Doesn't matter," the boy shrugged and pulled Kiku off of the stage to sit at a table right in front of you. "Whatever you want."

"Kay, cool," you nodded, typing on the laptop while your actions were broadcasted on a large flat screen attached to the side of the stage.

"… vodkagent037?" Kiku asked curiously while you inputted that you can sing or play the electric guitar before turning to him and smirking.

"Of course," you chuckled, "Can't sing without a little bit of vodka, да?" You quickly got quiet, making a lot of quick typing motions on the keyboard and logging into a certain dashboard that not even Kiku knew about. "Hey guys –"

"Suit you're back!" a man on the screen laughed loudly, the others on the screen rolling their eyes while you snorted.

"It's not suit _**Stuart~**_. Don't make me sneak into your house and torture you till you run away screaming," you smirked, though the man simply shrugged at your comment and someone else sighed and shook their heads.

"Listen to the woman Stu. I've worked with her and trust me, she'll kick your ass," another man said, a chuckle escaping your lips while you continued to type on the keyboard.

"Thanks Mike," you smiled.

"So where have you been?" a woman asked, a sigh escaping your lips as you shook your head.

"Busy as always," you responded.

"Where are you now –"

"In some Chinese restaurant. Why Mike? Are you looking for me?" you tilted your head to the side and innocently smiled, but Mike pouted and grumbled under his breath.

"N-no I'm not. Just wondering," he huffed.

"Well, as always, I'm doing well," you smiled to them, "and I have some time to jam. Joan, while I'm here do you want to work on that song or –"

"Not right now," she snorted. "I'd rather do that during the week. You know, my times off. Just plan accordingly."

"Sure thing," you nodded, sighing again while you scratched the back of your head. "If that's it I'll just fine a place to jam here. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," they all said at once, "see you later."

Smirking you logged off, Kiku staring at you confused as you quickly typed and began the random select machine. "… You have your own group –"

"Sort of," you shrugged, "I have a few groups, actually. Just some people I know from the site. Nothing too big." You chuckled and you were thrown into a group, quickly grabbing the electric guitar and reading the information on the screen. "Hmmm… Do you mind Hollywood Undead, Greg?"

"Sure! Sounds awesome! You sure you can play that though –"

"There's nothing I can't do," you winked, hearing the drums online and started strumming the guitar. You walked over to the microphone, pulling the mic down slightly so it was close to your mouth and you could sing along. Then the song began, your hands gliding across the guitar while the lead singer began and the lyrics were displayed on the screen:

'I'm holding on so tightly now.  
My insides scream so loud.  
They keep watching, watching me drown.  
How did it come to this?

'How did it come to this?  
How did I know it was you?  
It was a bad dream, asphyxiated watch me bleed.  
The life support was cut, the knot was too tight.  
They push and pull me but they know they'll never win.'

You gave Gregory a smirk and a wink before leaning into the mic, your mouth taking in a deep breath before you yelled with your voice echoing in the background of the lead singer:

'"Throw it all away, throw it all away."  
I keep on screaming but, there's really nothing left to say.  
"So get away, just get away."  
I keep on fighting but, I can't keep going on this way.

'"I can't keep going, can't keep going" on like this.  
They make me sick.  
And I get so sick of it.  
Cause they won't let me, they won't let me breathe.  
Why can't they let me be?

'Why can't they let me be?  
Why don't I know what I am?  
I force this hate into my heart cause it's my only friend.  
My lips are sewn shut, I watch myself bleed.  
They push and pull me and its killing me within.

'"Throw it all away, throw it all away."  
I keep on screaming but, there's really nothing left to say.  
"So get away, just get away."  
I keep on fighting but, I can't keep going on this way.

'I can't keep going, can't keep going on this way  
I can't keep going, can't keep going on this way'

You let go of your guitar and let it hang in front of you, grabbing the mic and gripping it into your hand. You looked out into the crowd and noticed there were some people at the door, giving them a wink before gripping the mic tightly and closing your eyes:

'"My heart beat stumbles and my back bone crumbles.  
I feel is it real, as the lynch mob doubles.  
They want blood and they'll kill for it.  
Drain me and they'll kneel for it.  
Burn me at the stake, met the devil made the deal for it.  
Guillotine dreams yeah there guillotine gleams the blood of their enemies watching while they sentence me."'

You paused; the mic already back in the stand as you put your hands back onto the guitar, but continued to sing:

'"Sentencing decease sentence decease and watch them bask in the glory of their holy disease.

'"Throw it all away, throw it all away."  
I keep on screaming but, there's really nothing left to say.  
"So get away, just get away."  
I keep on fighting but, I can't keep going on this way.

'"I keep on running  
I keep on running  
I keep on running  
But I can't keep going on this way

'I keep on running  
I keep on running  
I keep on running  
But I can't keep going on this way…"'

! #$%^&*()

**A/N: Hah! A musical number to end this chapter. A small filler chapter, made for fun. I made up that site if you're wondering and honestly, in the future or even now, I wouldn't be surprised if something like appears. Since we have skype and other visual tools on the internet I figured a site dedicated to music would eventually appear like this. Well that's it! Now I'm going to get going because I have a large midterm essay to write. SEE YOU LATER!**

_хлопчик_ – Ukrainian – _boy_

Lei – Chinese – thunder

Fleischer – German – butcher

– an idea of mine. It's a social network, like Facebook and Skype, with a combination of both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I thought it was in interesting idea and since I said this could be a present/future story I'll just say it's in the future, maybe not distant, but future =3

Music – "_Sell Your Soul_" by Hollywood Undead


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